We are German tourists visiting Malta to learn English, and we would like to register a complaint about your public transport system.

Firstly, it has proved to be nearly impossible to buy a Tallinja explorer card.

The tourist office in Mellieħa and the Transport Malta helpline both informed us that we could buy tickets from designated ticketing and information booths on Saturday and Sunday. However, the Bugibba booth was closed at 3pm on Saturday and the Sliema booth was closed on Sunday at 2pm. The booth at the main Valletta terminal was also closed at 3pm on Sunday. This is absurd as weekends are prime times for visitors.

Luckily, we were able to acquire tickets "under the counter" from a retail outlet, and this only after much haggling and a telephone call to the owner of the retail chain. Apparently, this outlet is supplied with one day's supply of tickets every three days.

The behaviour of drivers leaves much to be desired. On many occasions the bus driver did not tell us whether his bus would be stopping at Zabbar where we were staying. It was fellow passengers who informed us on the destination of the bus. There are route numbers on the bus but frequently the destinations are not updated or switched off entirely.

Many of these drivers do not speak English and are rude. Most times, they ignored questions or intimated with a flick of the hand that we should not bother them by asking questions.

Buses are never punctual. They are frequently up to 20 minutes early or late, meaning that it is impossible to plan a trip, particularly one that involves a bus change. At Golden Bay, the same driver was 15 minutes late every day even though the bus was empty and drove exceedingly fast. We now know that the buses were empty because everyone at the beach took taxies.

We also advise bus users to have a well-charged phone with an offline street map and running GPS if they wish to arrive at their destination.

Ilja Rauhut (Hamburg)

Pavel Splittgerber (Berlin)

Sebastian Rauhut (Wlhelmshaven)