Many Maltese who tried to use their Arriva passes in Gozo were in for an unpleasant surprise this weekend when they discovered their tickets were invalid.

The fare structure has always remained the same

Bus tickets bought in Malta cannot be used on an Arriva bus in Gozo, a company spokesman confirmed.

Describing it as a “different system”, the spokesman said tickets bought by Maltese residents – with a registered Maltese address – could only be used in Malta.

Residents with a registered Gozitan address could, on the other hand, buy a weekly, monthly or 90-day pass in Gozo and use it on both islands, the spokesman said. Day tickets bought by Gozitans cannot be used in Malta.

Asked why the ticketing system was different for the two islands, the spokesman said Arriva worked in line with its contractual obligations drawn up by Transport Malta.

The different systems had not been decided upon or chosen by Arriva, he added. The separate ticketing system has been in place since Arriva took over in July. “The fare structure has always remained the same – it has never changed,” the spokesman said.

He expressed surprise that people were unaware of the different systems saying there might have been a “misunderstanding somewhere”.

“This might mean people were wrongly charged, leading to the company being short-changed.”

The issue had been raised by a reader in a recent letter to The Times who complained that day tickets bought in Gozo were not valid in Malta and vice versa.

The ticket difference was spotted this weekend as hundreds of Maltese travelled to Gozo for the popular Nadur carnival. The much-anticipated weekend got off to a rocky start because of a two-day altercation between Gozo Channel and Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin which threatened to ground the vessels.

Joe Muscat, president of the Gozo Tourism Association, said there were no cancellations from Maltese travellers but there were a number of queries from clients who had paid a deposit.

“They asked whether they could claim their deposit if the ferry stopped running. Luckily everything turned out for the best as both parties reached a solution... even the weather has turned out in our favour,” he said.