Bugibba bus terminal
I’ve travelled to Malta more than any other foreign country, and yet for some reason have few photos on Flickr. So time to add a few more.
Malta 1996. Bugibba Bus terminal located along Triq it-Turisti. We are waiting for a bus to Valletta. Note the antique buses, one of the attractions of visiting Malta so far as I was concerned, although certain elements of the population disliked them, partly due to pollution they caused, and partly due to the ‘independent attitude’ of some of the owner-drivers. There was a time when the buses were painted various colours according to the route they took. This was because so many of the people were illiterate, but by the time I took this photo the buses on Malta were all painted yellow with an orange horizontal stripe and their Gozitan counterparts grey with a red horizontal stripe.
The buses were mainly of British manufacture, from manufacturers such as Bedford, AEC, Leyland and Ford, with a large number of these buses dating to the 1950s and 1960s. Some were even manufactured locally as well. Most were internally decorated with religious symbols and photos. Some of the drivers had interesting driving techniques; that and the condition of the roads and the habit of drivers of all vehicles to drive avoiding the potholes didn’t inspire confidence that we would arrive at our destination unscathed. Many of the older buses lacked such luxuries as windscreen wipers and doors, sometimes even a few seats were missing. But they were cheap and I loved them.
A major restructure of the bus service in Malta took place on 3 July 2011 when German company Arriva took over. This resulted in the end of the state-subsidized owner-operator model, which as of 2009 stood at 508 buses each with an average age of 35 years, and operated by over 400 independent licensees. I was there to witness the change and quite frankly it was a disaster. Many buses departed late or failed to turn up, primarily due to the absence of over 70 drivers who were due to transfer from the previous driver-owner system. This resulted in large crowds building up at Valletta's new bus terminus as well as other termini and stages across Malta. Other issues increased the delays, such as incorrect or non-operational route information on buses and mechan
ical faults. Arriva has also received criticism over the overhauled routes and timetables, which has increased journey times for some passengers. A journey that previously look me about half an hour would now take two hours. During the first week of the new system, up to 180 drivers, most of whom had previously worked on the old network, failed to appear for duties.
A change in government in 2013 helped the transition from Arriva (who were unable to run the service profitably and were looking for an early exit) to being managed by Malta Public Transport. Since 2015, Malta Public Transport is run by Autobuses de Leon – a Spanish company – although the operator’s name was left unchanged. Since I’m back in Malta in February i will see if matters have improved.
Bugibba bus terminal
I’ve travelled to Malta more than any other foreign country, and yet for some reason have few photos on Flickr. So time to add a few more.
Malta 1996. Bugibba Bus terminal located along Triq it-Turisti. We are waiting for a bus to Valletta. Note the antique buses, one of the attractions of visiting Malta so far as I was concerned, although certain elements of the population disliked them, partly due to pollution they caused, and partly due to the ‘independent attitude’ of some of the owner-drivers. There was a time when the buses were painted various colours according to the route they took. This was because so many of the people were illiterate, but by the time I took this photo the buses on Malta were all painted yellow with an orange horizontal stripe and their Gozitan counterparts grey with a red horizontal stripe.
The buses were mainly of British manufacture, from manufacturers such as Bedford, AEC, Leyland and Ford, with a large number of these buses dating to the 1950s and 1960s. Some were even manufactured locally as well. Most were internally decorated with religious symbols and photos. Some of the drivers had interesting driving techniques; that and the condition of the roads and the habit of drivers of all vehicles to drive avoiding the potholes didn’t inspire confidence that we would arrive at our destination unscathed. Many of the older buses lacked such luxuries as windscreen wipers and doors, sometimes even a few seats were missing. But they were cheap and I loved them.
A major restructure of the bus service in Malta took place on 3 July 2011 when German company Arriva took over. This resulted in the end of the state-subsidized owner-operator model, which as of 2009 stood at 508 buses each with an average age of 35 years, and operated by over 400 independent licensees. I was there to witness the change and quite frankly it was a disaster. Many buses departed late or failed to turn up, primarily due to the absence of over 70 drivers who were due to transfer from the previous driver-owner system. This resulted in large crowds building up at Valletta's new bus terminus as well as other termini and stages across Malta. Other issues increased the delays, such as incorrect or non-operational route information on buses and mechan
ical faults. Arriva has also received criticism over the overhauled routes and timetables, which has increased journey times for some passengers. A journey that previously look me about half an hour would now take two hours. During the first week of the new system, up to 180 drivers, most of whom had previously worked on the old network, failed to appear for duties.
A change in government in 2013 helped the transition from Arriva (who were unable to run the service profitably and were looking for an early exit) to being managed by Malta Public Transport. Since 2015, Malta Public Transport is run by Autobuses de Leon – a Spanish company – although the operator’s name was left unchanged. Since I’m back in Malta in February i will see if matters have improved.