There are some things in life that simply do not require official confirmation. The sky is blue. Summer in Malta is hot. And anyone who regularly uses public transport knows that overcrowded buses are not the exception - they are, all too often, part of the daily commute.

That is why Transport Malta's finding that just one overcrowded bus was officially recorded during more than 52,000 inspections over two years was met with disbelief.

Not because commuters suddenly discovered there was a problem, but because the figures appeared to contradict what they experience every day.

The Malta Independent's account of our reporter's morning and evening commute was hardly unique. Packed, delayed buses, long queues, passengers standing shoulder to shoulder, and services too full to take on more people.

It is a scene that plays out across Malta every day, not just during rush hour.

A commuter does not need an inspector with a clipboard to know when a bus is overcrowded. They know it when several buses pass without stopping because there is no room left on board. They know it when they are forced to stand for the entire journey or wait for another service in the hope that there might finally be space.

The issue goes beyond one questionable statistic. If official data cannot identify one of the most common complaints made by bus users, then the methodology used to collect it deserves serious scrutiny.

To his credit, Transport Minister Chris Bonett did not attempt to defend the figures. He admitted they "do not add up", acknowledged that overcrowding is one of the public transport system's biggest challenges and ordered a review of how the data is being collected.

That is the right response. Pretending the figures reflected reality would only have frustrated commuters even further.

However, a review should not simply produce better statistics. It should produce a better understanding of how people actually experience Malta's bus network.

Public transport policy depends on evidence, and decisions about routes, frequencies and capacity are shaped by the information authorities collect. If that information fails to capture reality, there is a risk that the solutions will fall short too.

The goal has never been to prove that every bus is overcrowded. Nor is it to argue over whether there were one hundred overcrowded buses or one thousand. The point is far simpler: when thousands of commuters describe the same daily experience, yet official records barely acknowledge it, something is clearly wrong.

Malta has spent years encouraging people to leave their cars behind and use public transport instead. It is a sensible ambition, as fewer cars mean less congestion, cleaner air and more efficient roads.

However, asking people to make that switch also means providing a service they can rely on.

Nobody expects miracles overnight, and improving a public transport network takes time, investment and planning. What commuters do expect, however, is for the problems they face every day to be recognised honestly.

No report can erase the experience of watching a full bus drive past. No statistic can convince passengers that there was room when there clearly was not.

Commuters already know the truth. The review now underway should ensure that future statistics paint an honest picture of the state of Malta's bus service.

More importantly, it should be the catalyst for practical solutions that tackle overcrowding, because counting the problem more accurately means little if nothing is done to solve it.