Updated | Transport Malta confirms Arriva fiasco – Labour

Adds GWU statement at 1:38pm

Transport Malta's (TM) declarations confirm that the public transport reform introduced by the current administration has failed, Labour MP Joe Sammut said.

On Sunday it was reported that TM slammed Arriva's "unacceptable" public transport service and gave the company until the end of this month to bring it up to scratch. Reportedly, the authority threatened to deploy its own buses at Arriva's expense if this ultimatum is not met.  

Sammut said that the reform was piloted by "GonziPN" and pointed out that the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is at the helm of a Task Force on public transport.

While noting that Labour has been pointing out to TM for months that the reform has been a failure, Sammut the statement is a clear declaration of failure and shows that the authority is avoiding shouldering its responsibility.

He said this is "unacceptable" for Labour and added that Transport minister Austin Gatt and his right-hand man Manuel Delia's boasts on the success of the reform were based on fiction.

Meanwhile, the General Workers Union (GWU) said that TM and other authorities should shoulder responsibility instead of blaming Arriva employees.

It added that the majority of workers are doing heir utmost to provide a decent service to passengers.

While acknowledging that the public transport sector has a number of problems, the union said that Arriva employees, especially the drivers should not be blamed for anything they are not responsible of.

"We must note that the routes were not drawn up by Arriva or its drivers but by Transport Malta," the GWU said.