Transport Malta has ordered all the buses mentioned in a judicial protest to be removed from service until all the necessary checks are made.

It was reacting to a judicial protest filed on Tuesday morning where a Malta Public Transport workshop supervisor had accused his employer of ignoring his concerns and attempting to force him to allow dangerous and unroadworthy buses to continue in circulation, some with brake pads so worn that their effectiveness was at less than 30%. Malta Public Transport categorically denied any allegations with regard to the safety of the bus fleet.

But in a statement later, Transport Malta ordered the public transport operator to remove from service all busses mentioned in the judicial protest pending the necessary checks.

Transport Malta said that, as the regulator, it performs checks on 9 to 15 buses a week to ensure that the vehicles are roadworthy and that action be taken when a bus does not conform with the safety requirements. It said that buses are given permission to be used only after they pass this inspection.

This followed on from a response to a Parliamentary Question asked by PN MP Adrian Delia, where Transport Minister Chris Bonett said that Transport Malta will be inspecting the allegedly defective public transport buses immediately.

Bonett said that the last bus which was highlighted by MPT as one which could not be used on the road was identified last March, where the bus had problems with the windscreen and lights, and not the brakes, "which is a much less serious issue." He said that this particular bus is being kept at the company's headquarters in Luqa, and will not be used until it is certified as roadworthy.

Bonett said that under a Labour government, public buses have not caught fire on Malta's roads. He continued that government has provided public transport services free-of-charge, and has increased substantially the number of routes.