Arriva CEO says 79% of original bus plan had to be redesigned

Arriva Malta chief executive David Martin today described Malta’s public transport as “the most ambitious plan in Europe” the bus company had ever seen.

Addressing a press conference for journalists, Martin revealed that almost the entire original public transport plan – specifically 79% of the plan – had to be redesigned.

“Usually we never expect change of routes in the first six months. Generally the norm is that a contract changes just 5-10% with a three to nine months notice period,” Martin said.

He said the initial problems experienced by Arriva were also due to having fewer experienced drivers than initially imagined, and having underestimated the amount of traffic congestion on the island.

This led to a 10% increase of 94 routes, operating an extra 18% in kilometres since July. Commuters responded by buying over 14,000 saver cards.

“Everybody makes mistakes but we haven’t provided an absolutely bad service. I’m really proud that we pulled together and we are now improving. It has been a fantastic learning situation.”

Martin however praised Transport Minister Austin Gatt’s vision for public transport. “I would be sorry if he had to resign,” he said referring to Friday’s vote of no-confidence against the minister. “He had a vision for the island.”

Earlier this afternoon, Martin also met with Gatt to give his assessment of the delivery of public transport services in Malta and provided details of a number of initiatives already undertaken by Arriva and further plans to deliver the levels of service that passengers deserve.

"Arriva is determined to deliver the highest quality service possible in Malta - and we have the skills and resources to do that," Martin assured the minister.

"Our team in Malta has had great support from across Arriva over the early months with more than 140 people, from seven of the 11 other countries where we operate, helping to get the new and re-shaped services up and running."

Martin said Arriva was committed in providing a high quality public transport service in Malta that will be recognised as a leading European transport solution,

During the talks, Martin underlined Arriva's commitment to continue to ensure that its massive investment in training and technology yields the highest standards of service excellence for the travelling public in Malta.

Despite the transitional difficulties and the radical adjustments to the contracted route network design requested by Transport Malta to meet customer demands, Arriva's operations have now turned the corner and are well on the way to meet the contracted requirements on frequency, capacity and reliability, Martin said.

"Working with our partners in the Ministry and Transport Malta we believe we have turned a corner in the delivery of bus services in Malta and Gozo," he said.

"The issues that remain today, though frustrating for the passengers affected, are increasingly isolated, either geographically or to specific times of day. Measures are being taken by Arriva in coordination with Transport Malta as regulators and managers of the road infrastructure, to ensure that such issues are addressed without delay."

Martin reiterated his commitment to monitor progress of the implementation of the initiatives being undertaken in Malta personally.