After Arriva relaunch, MHRA says tourists ‘still critical and unhappy about the service’

Arriva’s relaunched and tweaked service has done little to quell the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association’s ire at the shortcomings of the service for tourists.

According to a random survey conducted by hoteliers between Monday and Tuesday in core tourism areas – particularly in Sliema, St Julians, Bugibba, Qawra and Mellieha – the changes introduced by Arriva on Sunday have led to a satisfactory improvement in the public transport service.

Tourists pay higher bus fares – a matter which is still being investigated by the EU Commission – but the MHRA is insisting the bus service in tourist areas is inferior, and that its survey shows complaints over the past weeks persist.

“Feedback by visitors was overall negative with some visitors complaining vociferously about the long waits and that the service was not of an acceptable standard. The fact that buses are very often full up and the unreliability of the schedules also remain critical issues,” the MHRA said.

MHRA President George Micallef said the feedback echoes that of the general public and the reports in the media: “The survey we conducted gives us direct feedback by visitors, which unfortunately shows a consistent negative trend. It’s clear that the new public transport service is having a negative impact on the overall experience of the Malta product.

“This is of course a very serious issue which is harming our image and our country and I cannot understand how the authorities can tolerate such a situation. We appeal to the government to treat this issue with urgency.”

Micallef also denied claims by Arriva managing director Keith Bastow that the bus company had held meetings with MHRA.

“Not a single meeting was held since the start of the service. The only communication and meeting between MHRA and Arriva was that of the 13 June, held on MHRA’s insistence, during which Mr Bastow introduced himself and then left. The meeting then continued with other Arriva representatives, who agreed to make a presentation to the hotel trade to provide information and receive feedback, but on the day, Arriva officials did not turned up, and the 78 hoteliers that were present, were left waiting.”

MHRA subsequently held meetings with Transport Malta to discuss the problems affecting tourists.

Some measures were introduced, such as direct buses to the main beaches, which measures helped to alleviate some of the problems. But MHRA said TM had stopped responding ever since it asked the authority to be specific about the improvements taking place on routes commonly used by tourists as of the 11 September relaunch.

“Unfortunately it seems that Arriva and Transport Malta are not interested in the level of service that so many thousands of tourists are getting, which perhaps explains why they have failed to respond to our communications,” the MHRA said.