As a full-time student, I have to go to Swatar nearly every day by bus.

The new transportation scheme seemed to have improved the connections to Balzan but they have very unreliable timetables, especially the buses 181 (Dingli-Mater Dei) and 182 (Mtarfa-Mater Dei).

In fact, while the 181 is scheduled in Balzan every 60 minutes, at 20 minutes past the hour, the 182 is scheduled at 40 minutes past, making for long waiting times at the bus stops.

Malta Public Transport managed to improve the connections between Valletta and areas that before had very little or no public transportation at all, but made it unreliable in many areas including Balzan, because of the timetables and the reduction or removal of important and fast services such as the 106 (to Mater Dei), X3 (to the Airport) and 202/203 (to Sliema and St Julian’s).

It is an improvement for some areas but not very much for Balzan and several other areas. Every day, going to Swatar is an adventure for the long waiting times at the bus stop, and on the way back it is sometimes even worse.

Some other improvements can be important for residents of small villages like Balzan and Iklin, who have to rely on bus services passing through Birkirkara.