The promenade along the Sliema Ferries is lined with sightseeing double-deckers and Arriva buses, but the 1964 traditional Maltese bus painted in bright yellow stands out, inviting tourists aboard.
If we charged a penny for every photo taken with the bus,we won’t need to sell souvenirs
This time, however, L-Iskafi will not be taking them for a tour around the island because it has been transformed into a mobile souvenir shop.
With a shape known as Tal-bulldog, the bus is adorned with its original dashboard, railings, bell and a statue of St Mary above the windscreen, providing a glimpse of a time when the Maltese buses still reigned the streets.
“When we were renovating the bus we thought of removing the statue, but my father, who owns the bus, said L-Iskafi will not go out of the garage without the statue of St Mary,” Norbert Abela, 22, told The Sunday Times.
His father Andrew, known as Indri taċ-Ċanċu, bought L-Iskafi in 1981 and has since then built his own transport business.
The chassis had been imported from England, and the AEC Reliance bus was built in Malta in 1964. At the time, it was one of the fastest vehicles on the road and was nicknamed L-Iskafi, after the sailing boat Skiff, Mr Abela explained.
“It’s my father’s first bus, registered on my mother’s name and the heart of the garage. It’s alive... it’s a kind-hearted bus that never gave us any trouble, and it was heart-breaking to see it all alone in the garage after July 2011,” Dorianne Abela 31, said, liking L-Iskafi to a family member.
Ms Abela is one of Andrew’s five children, and together with her brother Norbert takes care of the mobile shop.
Installed with a catalytic converter and kept in prime condition, the bus parks in tourist hotspots like Sliema, Vittoriosa and Valletta, but the siblings from Żejtun are in discussions with local councils and have already been contacted by village feast organisers.
“The feedback has been great, from locals and tourists alike. If we charged a penny for every photo taken with the bus, we won’t need to sell souvenirs to make money,” Mr Abela laughed.
“Tourists tell us it is a pity that they cannot ride traditional buses any more. The Maltese buses need to be appreciated more, and incentives to restore them and to be able to use them for commercial purposes could help.
“Technology has advanced and the vehicles can be renovated so that they don’t pollute. This is part of our Maltese heritage that we shouldn’t lose,” Ms Abela said, pointing out that the London cab kept its old look despite technological advances.
When the traditional buses made way for the Arriva ones, the family was unsuccessful at registering it as a vintage or classical vehicle.
One day, while Norbert was out with friends, someone suggested it should be turned into a souvenir shop.
L-Iskafi went out on the street as a mobile souvenir shop last month, and business is picking up.
It remains the apple’ eye of Indri taċ-Ċanċu, who does not let anyone else drive it.
He takes it out of the garage in the morning and picks it up late in the afternoon when the siblings head home.
And the siblings believe L-Iskafi will always remain an important part of the family, just as it forms an important part of the island’s heritage.
A schedule of the bus’ whereabouts can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Souvenir-Bus#!/pages/The-Souvenir-Bus/236180809851835 .