Malta buses go green

Image:Malta today

Its pretty hard to miss the Malta bus fleet. For a start, they make a hell of a racket. The major bus terminal at the Valetta gates is a swirling mass of very large vehicles lumbering around the magnificent central fountain, miraculously managing not to mow down the locals and tourists that squeeze through tiny cracks between them. I'm sure there was some kind of  system operating in the whole parking, on-loading offloading thing, but it was pretty hard for the casual observer to discern.

Judging by the constant cacophany that greeted us whenever we opened our hotel window, leaning on the horn seems to be an essential part of the recipe. The noise usually ensued when a driver brought the whole circle to a shuddering halt by simply slamming on the brakes wherever they stood to let their passengers off. Some of them had very jaunty horns, though. At least two played a tune that went for at least five seconds. And I have never, ever, seen a more miraculous driving achievement than executing a three point turn in the midst of 70 moving vehicles in less than three seconds without killing anyone.

The drivers most admirable acheivement,though, is the buses themselves. This is the Elvis of bus fleets. Vegas era Elvis. Its big, its beefy, its got a deep voice, and its not afraid of a bit of bling. You can forgive a lot of a bus if its chrome grill is as broad and sparkly and its make-up is expertly applied.

The tourists love them. A lot of people love them. They have their own Wikipedia and Stalkbook and photo archive pages on the interweb. They drivers love them, too, not least because the driver's own them. This is key to both the loving care with which they have been maintained, and the divine diversity of a fleet. In an era where for some reason we tend to equate efficiency with monotony, every one is different. The owner operator model in Malta dates back 100 years, and as of 2009 stood at nearly 500 buses operated by 400 licensees.

But its all over now, baby blue. The service has been tendered and the old buses, and a great many of the drivers, are all set to shuffle off this transport coil. While the new consortium, Arriva, claims it will hire 1,100 people, resulting in a net gain in jobs, it remains to be seen whether the existing drivers will be kept on.

Commuters don't exactly seem to be rallying to the drivers' cause. Early comments bemoaning the loss of this iconic living museum were soon drowned by the complaints of disgruntled commuters complaining of unreliable services, fictional timetables, rudeness, dirt, heat, and smoking. Malta's Ombudsman recent found that the transport association had ignored 49 complaints of driver smoking. A quick scan through comments on news reports such as the one here gives a good summary. Unfortunately the only people defending the drivers seem to be the drivers themselves.

According the the Malta Independant Online the new fleet with include 230 brand new Euro V buses and an additional 86 buses with Euro V engines between two and seven years old. Their introduction will take the average age of the fleet down to two years, compared to its current average of 30.

The government and the tender winners, Arriva, are keen to promote the green credentials of the new deal. The fleet will include 13 hybrid vehicles for use in historically and environmentally sensitive areas. A report commissioned by the government has suggested that this, along with the replacement of the rest of the fleet, including fitting eco-driving technology to vehicles, tyre inflation monitoring and turning engines off between journeys aim to improve air quality, and deliver a 48 per cent in hydrocarbons, 94 per cent reduction in particulate matter, a 70 per cent reduction in oxides of nitrogen and a 55 per cent reduction in carbon monoxide.

Commuters have also been promised air-conditioning, on-vehicle destination and ‘next stop’ electronic displays, be wheelchair accessible and have improved safety standards in an effort to incrase bus passengers by 54 per cent over the life of the 10 year contract. Arriva Malta has also said it would support, a heritage bus museum for retired buses if one was to be established, though the extent of, and enthusiasm for, such a project remains to be seen.

Maybe taking a big gulp of clean fresh air will make up for the losing the spectacle of a hundred orange leviathans flaunting their their chrome and badges as they dance around the fountain.