Government should take responsibility for ‘inadequate’ bus services - Zminijietna

Zminijietna – Voice of the Left – requested Transport Minister Austin Gatt to listen to complaints made regarding discrepancies in bus schedules and routes and take responsibility by resolving the issue.

“It is not right that the Ministry responsible for the planning of routes and the one awarding ARRIVA this contract, is now evading its responsibilities and putting the blame elsewhere. It is a fact that there is a qualitative improvement in terms of buses and drivers, but this does not exclude the fact that the service given remains inadequate,” Zminijietna said.

According to a press release, Zminijietna said that the Minister’s claims of a new soon-to-be unsubsidised reform which would be more efficient and provide a more frequent service whilst operating fewer buses was “only a myth”.

“The reduction in the number of buses used to run the service and the badly planned routes is leading to an increase in the travelling time, and longer journeys on some routes, while other trips are leaving from the terminal already crowded with passengers, with the consequence that persons are left waiting on the stages as the buses that pass are full to the brim,” Zminijietna said.

The leftist NGO made an appeal to the government to take responsibility and solve the problem by increasing subsidies to improve the service, “thus assuring that the social and economic aspect remains a priority in the reform”.