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Muscat says there is “no rocket science” to a decent bus service
Opposition leader Joseph Muscat, having heavily criticised government on the new public transport system, has finally come forward with suggestions as to how a Labour government would have handled the transport reform.
Muscat has drawn criticism for not offering concrete solutions to the problems that have befallen the transport reform over the past month, while consistenly lambasting the way it had been managed thus far.
Muscat said that managing an effective transport system is hardly “rocket science”, adding that all it would have needed to operate efficiently was “proper management, serious planning and a well-time decision-making process.”
“First of all, there should have been proper consultation – not simply a request for feedback. After the initial consultation, we would have drafted a plan and went back to consulting. We would also have made sure that the routes would have been tested before we started servicing them.”
Muscat said that this would not have solved any teething problems – which are understandable given the size of the reform – but it would have drastically minimised any structural faults.
“Teething problems are not the issue, it is the horrendous structural problems which we take exception with,” Muscat reiterated, adding that proper testing and consultation would have eliminated the need to change the routes within three weeks of launching the new ones.
“The new routes will continue to create confusion amongst the already confused commuters,” he said.
Muscat also criticised Transport Minister Austin Gatt and his head of secretariat Emanuel Delia, who “have blamed all the problems on the people for not participating in the pseudo-consultation process after introducing some changes in the routes.”
He also criticised the fact that Transport Malta is carrying works in major roads at the height of the tourism season:
“Labour would not have planned roadworks in two major arteries leading to the Airport, or started road works on the main road leading to Cirkewwa and at the same time closing St Paul’s Street in Valletta, which is one of the only two entry points to the City since the parliament project began.”
Muscat stressed that a Labour government would introduce proper management and serious planning so as to “not critically disrupt the Maltese and tourists who are in Malta for a few days and would want to make the most out of the Maltese experience.”
Asked to elaborate on what PL means when it calls for ‘political responsibility’ on the matter, Muscat ignored the question.
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ARMS has a good website in case people living on the moon haven't noticed. One can manage one's bills, pay bills, pay on account etc from the comfort of one's own home. But this 'luxury' doesn't appeal to all Maltese; a lot of them are either PC illiterate and/or are antiestablishment and prefer to moan all the time, blissfully unaware that they are lucky to be living in Malta. And their insularity makes them unaware of the big problems facing other countries; they have never lived anywhere except in Malta where everybody is born with a silver spoon. No wonder they make mountains out of molehills, and they blow trivial inconveniences out of all proportion.
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@ briffy@maltanet
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As I said before, you do have a big mouth.
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People do not buy tickets before hand because they do not know if they get the chance to board a bus or not. And if you call the bus reform a big success you surly must be living out on the moon. The ‘buzullotti’ are still there and at time it is even worse from when the actual buses were on strike way back in 2008. That is good news, we shall forget it by Christmas, which Christmas you did not say!
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If you think that the people have forgotten the ‘ARMS’ saga, again you are wrong, for I am the number one who will make any Nationalist candidate who visits my house before the next coming elections to ‘EAT IT’!
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It’s amazing how people like you think that the mob out there have a small mind and yours if big, intelligent and fresh.
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Sorry biffy I got down on you, but your writing is more than pathetic.
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@ briffy@maltanet
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Wrong again briffy. Only you as Nationalists go down on your knees and kiss you minister's half sized balls and while you’re at it you can kiss ours too! It seems you got a big mouth with a very, very large pair of lips!
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@ Citizen X citoyen....If Muscat had to be in government and would have a minister like Austin Gatt he (Muscat) would be eternally grateful to him; he (Muscat) would go down on bended knees and kiss his minister's balls. But the like of ministers like Austin Gatt would not be found in the Labour camp.
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Dr Joseph Muscat ghandu jaghmel investigazzjonijiet fuq kull ma sar dan l-ahhar 25 sena. Jibda mild-dipartiment kollha tal finanzi, l-infiq u il-hela li saret u qeda issir. Boardijiet bl-addocc basta tal-qlaba jiehdu l-eluf. Xiri ta' affarijiet bl-addocc u meta wihed jista jifranka ewro ma jifrankahx. Minn jaf kemm jixtraw affarijiet li ma hemx uzu taghhom jekk mhux ukoll personali, u jinxtraw min ghand tal qalba biex jiehdu l-commisions ect ect ect ect
Irid joqod attent ferm fejn imorru flus il-poplu
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Ara veru Joseph Muscat ma jahmilx li jikber un negozju fil bejgh tas sun block? In-nies jistennew fix-xemx tisreg taw f'ghajnu:)
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For the money spent in consultancies (blue-eyed boys got the job, wonder why?) the service is not up to scratch. There is much more the mere teething problems which were expected.
http://mazzun.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/esperjenza-ta-servizz-bazwi/
The new routes are the most worrying debacle, even though the missing drivers did not help. Then again, Arriva had been boasting of thousands of applications for the job of drivers. Where did these end up?
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With Arriva Mai it seems that more than rocket science is needed to make it efficient!
The last present by Dr Gatt to the people before his exit from the political scene.
Luke Camilleri •
We were promised State -of the -art service and all we got is the BUZZOLOTTI BRAND of the Gonzipn Clan!
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No one can deny that the reform of the public transport system has been a success story. The buses are comfortable, airconditioned, spacious, the drivers behave civilly, the buses don't emit black fumes. The air is much cleaner. There is still loss of time due to the fact that people are not accustomed yet to buying their tickets BEFORE they board the bus - this is causing delays. But when commuters get used to the idea of buying their tickets from such outlets as stationeries, and they stop paying their fares when they board the bus journey times will be reduced substantially. The question of routes is being seen to. And by Xmas everybody would have forgotten the initial hiccups. That's human nature. Remember the ARMS experience when there were so many complaints when it was introduced?. Everyone has forgotten about it and nobody mentions it anymore. The same will be the case this time.
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There are many things that need fixing in Malta and neither side of politics, when they had their chance, did it or did it properly so it lasts. None of them were "rocket science". True, incremental small changes are made and sold ad nauseam, by both sides when it suits, as monumental achievements. How come then overall - to take one area only - Malta's infrastructure leaves you with a feeling that it is a third world country? Despite the patches of improvement here and there.Obviously Malta lacks more than just rocket scientists! Obviously many are at the moment hoping there are some solutions in the PL. Let's hope there is - however it's probably wise to hold judgement as when they are elected both sides seem to act the same in some areas - the local knowledge and who knows whom and who voted for whom seems to over take the grandiose statements made before elections. So patchwork we get again. Isn't that the story of the place for the last 100 years bar some examples that have made Malta better overall?
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@ I agree with you citixenX4 that if Dr Joseph muscat will be the next PM INVESTIGATE ALL the contract done by Dr Austin Gatt and if found GUILTY he wll be thrown to PRISON and also that the 600 ewro for the cost of living that the PM gives for him and his cabinet and segreterial parlaments WILL BE REFUND BACK That's WHAT we want to HEAR from Dr Joseph Muscat
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For how many years has the present government had talks with all those concerned to avoid structural projects and roadworks in summer? I've personally heard three different ministers say that they have had talks to limit such disruptive projects and yet, year in year out, it continues. The present government is not incompetent but comatose. So did anybody ever expect the Public Transport Reform to solve problems that the Nationalist Party left to fester for 25 years?
http://mazzun.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/esperjenza-ta-servizz-bazwi/
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I love Muscat's sarcasm xD
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Muscat needs to say only one thing - if he had a minister like Austin Gatt in his government he would fire his ass, investigate him if there even a whiff of corruption (compared to the stench that surrounds Austin) and throw him in jail if found guilty. These are the kind of promises that we need to hear. Otherwise it will be simply jumping from the clogged water closet that PN has become to the overflowing urinal that PL will probably offer as an alternative to the long suffering Maltese.
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Consider the evidence:
The farce that is the BWSC contract – it had to be a Nat minister who decided to buy a turbine that uses heavy fuel oil, whilst trying to belittle PL’s suggestion that they go for a gas turbine. Now, once the millions (and the commissions) have been settled, the same Nats are talking of fixing the turbine to burn gas…
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The statement by Gonzi that a wind farm will be built on Sikka l-Bajda, only to then learn that the whole reef is unstable. To add insult to injury, wind tests have only started recently, therefre Gonzi was making statements when he still has no idea whether the wind strength and direction are within the required parameters.
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The completely useless Resources Ministry which is not even able to have a minimum of control over our most precious resource – water.
The farce that is Dar Malta – millions of tax payers’ money spent to massage the ego of one individual.
Austin Gatt’s grandiose statement when launching the Arriva service (or non-service) when he announced “Zmien il-buzullotti spicca”. How embarrassing….
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Gonzi’s statement that if reforms are not carried out the country will end up like Greece – an admittance that the economy is shot to hell.
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So at the end of the day, what we are saying is that the Nats are pretty much useless, so how can one expect them to get a bloody bus schedule right!!
