Tallinja Direct service axed as MPT increases bus frequency

The Malta Public Transport will be axing its direct services whilst increasing the bus frequency on a number of routes.

In a statement, the MPT said there will be an increase in the frequencies of four routes serving Qrendi, Zurrieq, Zejtun and Gudja as from Sunday 18 September.

There will also be changes on some routes serving Bugibba and Cirkewwa.

"In order to cater for the increasing demand, four routes in the Southern part of Malta will now start operating every 20 minutes instead of every 30 minutes at peak times," Daniel Grech, Commercial Director at Malta Public Transport, said.

The changes will affect services which are operated between Monday and Friday as follows:

• Route 72 - Qrendi between 05:20 and 17:00;
• Route 73 – Zurrieq between 05:15 and 16:25;
• Route 84 – Zejtun between 05:00 and 10:25; and
• Route 88 – Gudja between 05:30 and 09:30.
• Routes 41 and 42 to Cirkewwa will operate every 30 minutes throughout the whole day. On the other hand, route 212 to Bugibba and routes 221 and 222 to Cirkewwa will operate every 20 minutes.

With effect from Sunday 18 September, the Tallinja Direct service will no longer be in operation. The Tallinja Direct service offered direct connections between the airport, Sliema, St. Julian’s and the main beaches and catered for the seasonal increase in passengers. The regular services will still operate between these localities as usual through the winter.

Due to the changes in the network, the Journey Planner on the publictransport.com.mt website and the tallinja app will experience some downtime on Sunday 18 September 2016 while the routes and maps are updated accordingly.