Transport Malta yesterday expressed “optimism” on how the bus service was running five days after the reintroduction of direct routes. It said its monitoring showed encouraging performance on routes 2 (Vittoriosa), 3 (Xgħajra), 31 (Naxxar), 51 (Mtarfa), 62 (Siġġiewi) and 91 (Marsascala). The deployment of articulated buses on route 91 increased from 25 per cent on Thursday to 75 per cent yesterday, it said.

The regulator said that although route 82 (Birżebbuġa) improved, it noticed that the maximum waiting time of 20 minutes was not being respected between 8.15 a.m. and 9.15 a.m.

Gaps in the service on routes 41 (Ċirkewwa), 52 (Dingli), 53 (Rabat), 71 (Żurrieq) and 72 (Qrendi) were registered during the morning peak hours, causing delays.

“As regulator, Transport Malta will continue to insist Arriva provides the required resources to meet the requirements of the network, at peak times, in terms of the contract,” a spokesman said.

It said a Mater Dei Hospital employee called in to report there were no queues at the stops outside the hospital. The employee reported a continuous flow of buses circulating the area during the hospital’s peak working hours (8 a.m. to 12 noon).

Transport Malta thanked the police for assisting with traffic management.