Buses were introduced to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1905. As well as providing

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

across the country, up until 2011, the traditional Malta bus ( Maltese: '' xarabank'' or ''karozza tal-linja'') served as a popular tourist attraction due to their unique appearances grounded in the bus ownership and operation model employed in the country; by the end of this traditional operation, Malta had several bus types no longer in service anywhere else in the world. The unique nature of the Malta bus stemmed from the tradition of local ownership of the buses by the drivers, and their historic practice of customising them. In addition to a high degree of customisation, detailing and decoration, several Malta buses also had a unique appearance due to the practice of in-house maintenance, rebuilding or modifying of bus bodies in local workshops. As an iconic feature of the country, the classic Malta bus features on several tourist related items. As the main mode of public transport across the country, the Malta bus was also used by many tourists to visit the different parts of the country. While newer Malta buses were progressively introduced that followed modern standard bus designs found elsewhere, customisation and detailing had continued for these buses as well. On 3 July 2011, the network of service bus routes across Malta was taken over by

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.ex-London articulated

Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...

s, retaining and repainting some of the 'newest' buses from the old fleet in Arriva colours as well as purchasing a fleet of brand new King Long rigid buses. Arriva's operation in Malta was beset by problems; three fires within a 48-hour period in August 2013 prompted the Maltese government to ban the articulated Citaros from operation in the country pending an investigation. Arriva operation in Malta continued until 1 January 2014, when the nation's bus network was nationalised as Malta Public Transport. On 8 January 2015, Malta Public Transport was reprivatised as it was sold to Autobuses Urbanos de León (an ALSA subsidiary), who retained the Malta Public Transport brand name. The company doubled the bus fleet, which now consists of more than 400 buses. Malta Public Transport has invested extensively in modernizing its bus fleet making it safer, more environmentally friendly, and more comfortable. The company invested in 200 new buses with the latest Euro VI diesel technology. The buses are cleaned and maintained regularly, and are equipped with air-conditioning systems for added comfort. All the new buses have two doors to facilitate boarding and alighting of passengers.

Original bus system (1905–2011)

History

The first buses were imported to Malta in 1905 from Thornycroft in England by Edward Agius of Ed T Agius Ltd (coal shipping). He formed the Malta Motor Omnibus and Transport Syndicate Ltd with his brother-in-law Joseph Muscat to operate the first bus service between

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 ...

and

St Julians Saint Julian's ( mt, San Ġiljan) is a town in the Central Region, Malta, Central Region of Malta. As of 2020, its registered number of inhabitants stands at 13,792. It is situated along the coast, north of the country's capital, Valletta. It i ...

. As early as 1920,

bus manufacturing Bus manufacturing, a sector of the automotive industry, manufactures buses and coaches. History Bus manufacturing had its earliest origins in carriage building. Other bus manufacturers had their origins in truck manufacturing. Historically, ...

was taking place on the island, with local carpenters and mechanics constructing bus body

coachwork A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

for local transport companies. In the 1920s, operation of buses on public transport routes was subject to open competition between operators, and as such, buses used were not necessarily well turned out. With the formation of the Traffic Control Board in 1931, greater regulation and discipline of the system meant that operators began to upgrade the appearance of their buses. Since then, the tradition of showing pride in the vehicles has been maintained, through decoration and customisation of the buses. Since reform in the 1970s, bus operation was centralised under a worker cooperative, the Public Transport Association, or ''Assoċjazzjoni Trasport Pubbliku'' (ATP), in 1977. This association became responsible for the centralised day-to-day operational management of bus services, producing a unified timetable roster and basic livery, although this did not change the ownership arrangements for the buses. The overall transport system was regulated under the Malta Transport Authority (ADT). In December 2003, in light of over 100 buses being scrapped, a government subsidised tour bus service using traditional Malta buses, as the "VisitMalta bus", was set up by the tourism and transport ministries, although this was withdrawn in April 2005. While the buses generally remain popular among tourists and nostalgic Maltese, the original system was infamous and unpopular with some parts of the local population who considered the service as inefficient and polluting, driven by drivers who were sometimes very impolite to passengers. This resulted in a significant increase in private car ownership among the population, and today only one in ten trips are made via public transportation. One extreme case to note occurred on 29 June 2010, when a driver attempted to forcibly pull a Spanish tourist out of her seat and off the bus following a row over seven cents in change.

Operational system

The operation model dated back to a system introduced in 1977.''

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

'' issue 650 February 2009 The ATP authority determined the schedules, which were then operated by the private bus owners, who remained responsible for the condition and upkeep of their buses, either as owner operators, or in groups. As such, several buses were kept at the family homes of the drivers in question, or based in small garage locations. To ensure fair distribution of both good and bad routes, the daily operation of buses was allocated on a rota basis, with buses operating on a 'day on, day off' basis, whereby one day half of the buses operate on the public routes, while the other half were used for private hire, or as

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

es, or undergo maintenance. Malta buses on public transport duties were seen in high concentrations at the main City Gate Square

bus terminus A bus terminus is a designated place where a bus or coach starts or ends its scheduled route. The terminus is the designated place that a timetable is timed from. Termini can be located at bus stations, interchanges, bus garages or bus stops. T ...

surrounding the Triton Fountain, from where the vast majority of scheduled routes departed. Other major centres of traffic included Buġibba,

St Paul's Bay St. Paul's Bay ( mt, San Pawl il-Baħar) is a town in the Northern Region of Malta, sixteen kilometres () northwest of the capital Valletta. Saint Paul's Bay is the largest town in the Northern Region and the seat of the Northern Regional Comm ...

Sliema Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the most densely po ...

and

Mosta Mosta ( mt, Il-Mosta) is a small but densely populated city in the Northern Region of Malta. The most prominent building in Mosta is the Rotunda, a large basilica built by its parishioners' volunteer labour. It features the world's 3rd largest ...

Former liveries and types

Early buses wore an olive green livery with a black stripe. In the 1930s, buses were painted different colours according to the route they operated. In 1975 buses were painted green, and from 1995 vehicles carried in a yellow (lower) and white (upper) livery, relieved by a red band just below the window line.

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After ...

buses were grey with a red band below the window. All Malta buses immediately prior to the 2011 reform were single-deckers, with bus or

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

bodies. Early buses did not have many common

transit bus Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

features, with route numbers displayed using white cards. Later buses had modern features such as electronic destination displays, but these were still not used to indicate the bus's destination, showing only the number of the route. Very early types of bus could still be found but no longer in service, with a front engine mounted in an extended bonneted nose, in the style of some conventional

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s. The majority of classic Malta buses had elaborate grilles and headlight arrangements, curved windscreens and sloping roofs. Later makes of bus were usually of conventional bus and coach designs that were in use elsewhere in the world, such as

Plaxton Supreme The Plaxton Supreme was a design of coach bodywork built by Plaxton. It was first built, on small chassis only, in 1974, replacing the Plaxton Panorama. On full-sized chassis, it replaced the Panorama Elite in 1975, and was superseded by the ...

and

Duple Dominant The Duple Dominant was a design of a coach (and less commonly bus) bodywork built by Duple between 1972 and 1987. It introduced an all-steel structure and replaced the wooden-framed Duple Vega, Viceroy and Vista models. Chassis Duple Dominant ...

bodywork. Between 1981 and 1987 the fleet was drastically modernised with the import of over 260 second hand buses from the United Kingdom. Many of the oldest buses in the fleet were further replaced with the influx of 150 new

low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a low ...

es from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, financed with government grant aid, leaving just three normal control vehicles. Second hand imports from the UK had continued up to 2008, with some of the last examples being

Alexander Dash The Alexander Dash is a step-entrance midibus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders of Scotland from 1991 to 1997. Unveiled by Alexander at the 1991 Coach and Bus exhibition in Birmingham, it was one of the variants of Alexander's AM-typ ...

bodied

Volvo B6 The Volvo B6 was a engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE. History In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart, and with th ...

s deemed surplus after Stagecoach's takeover of

Yorkshire Traction Yorkshire Traction was a bus operator in Yorkshire that operated from 1902 until 2005. History In March 1902 the Barnsley & District Electric Traction Company Limited was formed. It operated trams around the Barnsley area until around 1930 ...

. Even with these fleet modernisations, the nearly 500 strong bus fleet still contained some examples dating from the 1950s which remained in operational service as recently as 2011, prior to the bus reform.

Detailing

Malta buses were characterised by their high level of customisation and detailing. Common additions to former route buses included: * Increased use chrome parts / high polishing of chrome parts, such as

hubcaps A hubcap or hub cap is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at minimum the central portion of the wheel, called the hub. An automobile hubcap is used to cover the wheel hub and the wheel fasteners to reduce the accumulation o ...

and grilles * Paint detailing, both generally, and of parts such as

indicators Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health o ...

and filler caps * Custom passenger messages, both in the interior and exterior of the bus * Names relating to the village

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

, monarchs, or other notable objects. * Trimmings and hangings, especially inside the front window * Slogans, murals, quotations and lucky images (such as the

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human ...

) Due to the nature of operation of Malta buses, many of the drivers were also mechanics, and a high number of Malta buses proudly displayed the name of the manufacturer of the chassis or body of the bus, or the engine type used. In some instances though, these names are not actually the name of the bus in question.

Preservation

The preservation organisation

Heritage Malta Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju Malta) is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency replaced the former Museums Department. Or ...

purchased 90 buses after the restructuring of the bus network and is currently in the process of restoring them to their original condition and preserving their customised modifications. These efforts were aided by expertise and parts provided by many of the vehicle's former owners. It is planned that these newly renovated buses will then be exhibited in an industrial heritage museum. Since 2011, various of the old buses have been repainted in their original pre-1975 colours. A notable example is the Gozo Mail Bus which was painted red with a white stripe.

MaltaPost MaltaPost p.l.c. is the postal service company in Malta. The public limited company took over the postal services previously carried out by Posta Limited, and started operating on 1 May 1998. History MaltaPost p.l.c. was registered with the Malt ...

issued a set of 20

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

to commemorate the withdrawal of service of the traditional Malta buses on 2 July 2011, a day before the restructure. The stamps showed Maltese buses in the different colours which existed for the different routes.

Arriva (2011–2013)

A major restructure of the bus service in Malta took place on 3 July 2011. The network was taken over by

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Halcrow Group was commissioned to assess the Malta bus system. Released in November 2005, the report criticizing the existing model and arrangement between ADT and ATP, which had produced a very low utilization of buses and a decline of 50% in the number of bus passengers between 1979 and 2009. Finalized plans were announced in December 2008 for the first bus route restructuring on Malta since 1977. Under

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

rules, the right to operate the new network could not be directly transferred to the ATP, although they were free to tender for the contract. 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. The new fleet controlled by Arriva consisted of 264 buses, including 2 seven-metre buses for the intra-Valletta route, 61 nine-metre buses including 10

hybrid electric bus A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a Diesel-electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid Diesel-el ...

es for

park & ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rap ...

services as well as selected village routes (Mater Dei-

Ta' Qali Ta' Qali is a wide open space in the limits of Attard and Mosta in central and northern Malta respectively, which contains the national football stadium, the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, Ta' Qali National Park, a crafts village, and a natio ...

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment *Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer * Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consisting of two sisters born ...

Xgħajra Xgħajra ( mt, Ix-Xgħajra) is a small village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is located on the coast, about halfway between Valletta and Marsaskala. Its local football club is known as the Xgħajra Tornadoes F.C. Contrary to popular be ...

-Paola), 153 twelve metre buses, and 46

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is u ...

es for airport routes and major routes such as those to

Malta International Airport Malta International Airport ( mt, L-Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta, ) is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole of the Maltese Islands. It is located on the island of Malta, southwest of the Maltese capital Valletta, in the town ...

and the ferry terminals. The new system increased the number of available bus seats by 6,600 to 20,500, and the number of bus stops in Malta to 850 plus another 120 in Gozo. The major benefits to the public for the change were presented in November 2010: # €3.5m less per year in Malta government subsidy # First ever all day bus service in Gozo, 7 days a week # One fare everywhere # Cheap weekly fares for non-residents # New buses (for 70% of the fleet) # All buses with less polluting

Euro V The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

engines # Substantially lower emissions # All buses fully accessible # Air-conditioning and CCTV on all buses # More routes, more frequent # More termini, more interchanges # Longer operating hours for all routes # Night service # Maximum waiting times for all routes # Schedules and bus arrival times an SMS away # More information on buses and bus stops # More employment # More discipline # Better trained drivers # An aquamarine coloured livery The bus fleet, all in Arriva's standard aquamarine and cream livery, was composed of

King Long buses along with

Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...

Mercedes-Benz Citaro G The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker bus, single-decker, Rigid bus, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use througho ...

articulated buses. Some of the newer buses from the previous operator had also been introduced into the new system. The network receives a subsidy of around €6 million per year. Passengers holding Maltese ID cards receive a 40% reduction of the price of their journeys due to subsidised fares, while non-ID card holders (including tourists) pay the full undiscounted fare, prompting the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

to launch an inquiry on whether the two-tiered price structure violates EU discrimination laws. The commencement of Arriva's services on 3 July 2011 was marred by many buses departing late or failing 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 mechanical faults. Arriva has also received criticism over the overhauled routes and timetables, which has increased journey times for some passengers. 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. They cited Arriva's use of split-shifts as the reason for their non-appearance, as these had reportedly not been part of the conditions they had agreed to work under. Their actions received some criticism, with politician Emanuel Delia accusing the drivers of attempting to sabotage services so that the new system would be abandoned. Arriva responded by drafting in seventy temporary drivers from its UK operation and trained further Maltese drivers to cover for the missing employees. Some services were subcontracted to other companies. A new shift pattern took effect at the end of July 2011. A series of changes to the new routes in response to criticism were announced on 23 July 2011, to be implemented between July and October. In August 2011, Arriva recognised the General Workers’ Union as a representative of its employees in the country. Further changes affecting 112 routes were announced in October by transport minister Austin Gatt, introducing more buses to Valletta and Mater Dei Hospital. Arriva has been harshly criticized both by commuters and by the government agency Transport Malta for consistently failing to keep up standards. On 14 November 2012, Arriva was harshly reprimanded by Transport Malta and given until the end of the month to bring up all its routes to 100% efficiency before TM deploys its own shuttles at Arriva's expense. In August 2013, the Government of Malta instructed Arriva Malta to remove the articulated buses from service, pending investigation following three major fire outbreaks in the span of 48 hours. The fires destroyed the buses and in one case caused extensive damage to some nearby vehicles belonging to

, the country's postal operator. Nobody was injured in these incidents. Like in the UK when the same buses had caught fire, these buses became a popular joke in conversations and social media sites. By the end of December 2013 Arriva had run up losses of €50 million in two and a half years.

Malta Public Transport (2014–present)

Malta - Valletta - Vjal Nelson - Bus terminal Valletta

On 1 January 2014 Arriva ceased operations in Malta having been nationalised as ''Malta Public Transport'' by the Maltese government, with the intention of reprivatising the system under a new operator once one could be found. Initially the buses, routes, livery, and tickets remained the same, but soon after the Arriva logos on buses were removed. New tickets with the name of the new company were introduced, and there were some minor changes in routes. By April 2014, three companies had submitted bids to operate the new bus services, these being Autobuses Urbanos de León, Gozo First, and Island Buses Malta. In May 2014 eleven new buses arrived in Malta, leased as the first part of a temporary new fleet of 45 buses to operate for Malta Public Transport. They were put to service in June 2014, and they were painted white with a small logo of Malta Public Transport. As of October 2014 the government has chosen Autobuses Urbanos de León, subsidiary of ALSA Group, as its preferred bus operator for the country. The company took over the bus service on 8 January 2015, while retaining the name
Malta Public Transport
'. The buses leased in the summer of 2014 were returned and the existing fleet was rebranded with a white and lime green livery. Malta Public Transport has invested extensively in modernizing its bus fleet making it safer, more environmentally friendly, and more comfortable. The company invested in 200 new buses with the latest

Euro 6 The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...

diesel technology. The buses are cleaned and maintained regularly, and are equipped with air-conditioning systems for added comfort. All the new buses have two doors to facilitate boarding and alighting of passengers. In the summer of 2015, the company introduced the personalised ''Tallinja Card'' smart card which provided cheaper fares and faster boarding to Maltese residents. By 2019, over 320,000 individuals had a personalised tallinja card. Bus use increased by around 20% following the introduction of the card. Nevertheless, since October 2022, the Malta Public Transport became free for all residents of the country with a valid personalized Tallinja Card.

Open-top buses

City Sightseeing Gozo Hop-On Hop-Off open top bus FPY 004

Open-top bus operation on Malta was first proposed in the early 1990s, when several double-deck vehicles were imported from the United Kingdom by private company Garden of Eden. The Transport Authority refused to license their operation as passengers standing on the top deck could reach a height over four metres, the maximum level allowed. In June 2007, this decision was reversed and two tourist services, a north tour and a south tour, began operation using eight open-top vehicles and this has since been expanded with a similar tour on

introduced.

References

External links

{{Commons and category
Malta Public Transport
fan site

fan site
Italian documentary about Maltese buses
Bus transport in Malta Customised buses Transport in Malta Tourism in Malta