Update 2 | Labour review of public transport: 'broken promises and too much waiting time'

Adds reaction by government

Labour MP Joe Sammut said the former yellow buses used by the Public Transport Association (ATP) before the Arriva public transport reform of July 2011, whcih introduced air-conditioned Euro-V engine vehicles, should have been kept and used as tourist attractions serving certain routes.

Addressing a press conference in Valletta marking Arriva's one-year anniversary in Malta, Sammut listed a number of "broken promises" by Transport Malta and Arriva when the latter took over the public transport service.

The new transport system is subsidised at €6.4 million by the government, which on average is less than the subsidy paid to the previous ATP cooperative which amounted to as much as €10 million a year.

"The principle aim of the reform was to address waiting time and for commuters to know at what time their bus would leave and arrive to destination. But this failed miserably and instead of making less use of their cars, statistics show that consumers' use of cars has increased," Sammut said, adding that in 2011 the number of imported cars increased as well.

"The responsibility of this failure falls squarely on Transport Malta."

The MP, who praised the new service for its drivers being more polite, added that he had also made use of the public transport and the biggest problem was the "excessive" waiting time and the failure of following timetables.

"Another promise made by Minister Austin Gatt was that subsidies were meant to decrease. But this was broken when one considers the extra €2 million which were given to Arriva following the network revamp," Sammut insisted, referring to the increased subvention due to the addition of more routes other than those previously planned by TM's transport planners.

Sammut also said that the fare structure didn't equally benefit all commuters, since everybody paid the same fare whether their distance is short or long.

However, the cheapest Arriva fare of €1.30 lasts for two hours of unlimited bus rides.

Listing other broken promises, Sammut said that not all buses had Euro V engines, some were not accessible while others lacked an air-conditioning system.

Sammut also expressed his disapproval that foreigners had to pay higher fares than Maltese, on presentation of an identity card. "This is discriminatory and no country outside Malta uses such methods," he said adding that this system also pushed away tourists.

Government replies

In a reaction, the Transport Ministry accused the Labour Party of criticizing the reform without taking into consideration the hard work being done by the workers.

The Ministry added that since Arriva took over the public transport sector, commuters have increased by almost 11% and praised the company for employing over 1,200 workers who were "family men, women and mothers, and youths".

"Moreover, everyone agrees that the service has improved a lot when compared to the old system and last year," the ministry said. "But all this hard work means nothing to the Opposition."

The ministry said that Joe Sammut, "who has appeared in the media only to alarm people and to rub salt into the wound", has ignored the government's, Arriva's and Transport Malta's hard work.

"90% of the service is functioning as it is meant to be," the ministry insisted.

The ministry said that buses were equipped with an air-conditioning system, the engines were Euro V and that Arriva buses were making 150,000 stops daily.

It added that Transport Malta was still monitoring the service provided by Arriva: "Since November, Arriva was almost fined €500,000."

"Everyone knows that the beginning is always hard. Yet, today everyone admits that it was thanks to this government that we have made gigantic steps in the sector," the ministry said.

"But the Opposition is only interested in criticising and ignoring the hard work which each transport sector worker is doing to earn a living. The hard work, the vision, the implementation of what was promised and the living standards of our families are only guaranteed by this government."

Arriva statement

On its part, Arriva's management said 99% of its busses are equipped with air conditioning units and 187 vehicles of its 285-bus fleet which run daily routes are approximately one year old.

"Arriva completes 74,000km per day in Malta and Gozo which is equivalent to 26 million kilometres per year. This offers the most extensive network with many travel options," the company said.

"In spite of roadworks, traffic congestions and badly-parked private vehicles, Arriva completes 92% of all its journeys on time. Irrespective of this, the company and its 1,100 employees work hard every day to improve operational performance."

Arriva said that following changes made last May, including 19 new routes and 42 revised routes, it had satisfied most of the requests received during the past months.

"The changes have been implemented following a great deal of consultation with local authorities as well as comments received through the Arriva's customer care centre and our regulating authority Transport Malta."

Arriva is currently operating 26 routes to Mater Dei Hospital and 48 routes from towns and villages to Valletta.  Other services include the Gozo network, frequent airport routes, links to Cirkewwa ferry, night service and popular beach destinations.