On Monday, this newspaper published a story about a bus driver who had scolded an elderly woman for trying to help another elderly woman in her commute. The driver ridiculed her and made goat calls at her.
In the meantime, yesterday, a video surfaced of some clown driving a bus that had a very dodgy steering wheel. A passenger filmed it an uploaded it to youtube. The driver carried on with the journey and even negotiated a roundabout before the steering wheel came off completely.
In the first instance, the woman concerned made a complaint to Malta Public Transport but it was not followed up. After the story by The Malta Independent, however, an investigation was launched and the driver was suspended.
In the second instance, the driver – who was one of the ‘coach hire’ drivers – was also suspended. Bravo, for the prompt and swift action. But it begs the question... has there been any health and safety audits carried out while the interim service provider is in operation.
If one watches the video, one cannot but help feel that the instance was an accident waiting to happen. Just minutes before the wheel came off entirely, the bus was going round a busy roundabout. What would have happened if the wheel came off and the bus tipped over? One cannot excuse the company in question for putting an unroadworthy bus on the road, but the driver should have had more sense. People’s lives were in his hands. Malta Public Transport launched an investigation immediately and within hours, the driver was suspended and the bus was taken out of service. But it should not stop there, all the buses that are on the road should be subjected to safety tests to make sure that they are up to standard.
In the second instance, the authorities are to be applauded for tracking down the driver who insulted a well meaning customer and suspending him pending investigation. It is absolutely unacceptable in modern society to have an elderly woman verbally abused, simply for asking on behalf of an even older patron, whether a bus goes to Valletta or not. As we said before, the introduction of the interim service saw public transport go back to the days of yore when bus owners (not all) used to swear at people, skip stages and even entire trips if they fancied it. People who are in the service industry have to be accountable for their actions, just as everyone else is. However, there is fault within the customer service department on this particular issue. The matter should not have had to be reported in the news before action was taken. Nonetheless, it is a clear message. Such behaviour will not be tolerated, and future instances should also be investigated just as thoroughly.