Transport Malta fines bus company €183,000 for missed trips

The operators of Malta’s public transport service were penalised for missed trips in 2017

One out of every 33 scheduled bus trips in 2017 did not take place, a rate that went down from one in 20 in 2016.

The operators of Malta’s public transport service were penalised for these missed trips to the tune of €183,559 in 2017.

Transport Malta started imposing penalties on missed trips from April 2016. During that year, the authority issued a total of €82,125 in penalties. In 2017, Transport Malta issued penalties to the tune of €183,559.

Transport Malta monitors the reliability of the bus service by calculating the ratio between the actual number of trips fulfilled against those scheduled. The ratio is worked by gathering GPS data from all the buses in service, so that the ratio is actual and not just a sample.

According to a spokesperson for Transport Malta, the average reliability during 2016 was 95% whilst that of 2017 was 97%.

MaltaToday asked for these statistics in view of complaints made on the social media by commuters over missed trips.

While commuters generally report an improvement of the service, occasional missed trips with sometimes serious consequences in terms of missed appointments and late arrivals to work, are still reported.

TM did not reply when asked whether commuters can seek redress when they miss appointments as a result of missed trips.

TM is reporting a growth of one million passenger trips in the first six months of 2018 when compared to the same period for last year. On Thursday, Malta Public Transport launched a bus control centre which will aim to reach greater efficiency in the service through technological upgrades.

The control room, situated in Malta Public Transport’s Qormi premises, will be tracking all buses – numbering around 400 – operating on Maltese roads, in real time, providing information on traffic delays, accidents and diversions.