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Arriva has pulled out of Malta. The operation, which started in July 2011, was this week taken over by the Maltese government which will run it until it finds a new contractor. A statement from Arriva says: “After careful consideration, agreement has been reached to transfer the whole of the shareholding of Arriva Malta to the government of Malta, taking effect from 2 January.
“We have considered every alternative together with government representatives and have entered into long and detailed negotiations to try and find a satisfactory outcome for all parties. We believe that this decision will be in the best interests of all stakeholders and ensure continuation of the provision of bus services on Malta and Gozo for the travelling public.
“Services continue to operate as normal and, as part of the agreement, Arriva will provide operational management advice to the government of Malta over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees.”
The government"s Transport Malta organisation has taken over the Arriva fleet, apart from the 68 ex-London Mercedes-Benz Citaro artics which have been out of service since September following three fires. Most services are operated by 172 King Longs bought specifically for the contract.
Pulling out of the ten-year contract is a major embarrassment for Arriva. The operation got off to a bad start with a shortage of drivers. There were also complaints about the new route network, devised by the government, and about the suitability of the artics for Maltese roads.
The company has had four managing directors in 30 months, Keith Bastow, Dave Kaye, Richard Hall and, taking over last summer, group engineering director Mark Bowd.
There has been a change of government since the contract started and prime minister Joseph Muscat said last year: “The public transport disaster, from bad route planning to the EU ticket pricing probe, is a clear example of the legacy this government inherited.” The EU was challenging differential fare scales for residents and visitors.
Transport minister Joe Mizzi claims Arriva has accumulated a debt of €50million (￡41million) since starting operations in Malta.