More people say they used the old bus service than they do Arriva, contradicting official statistics reporting surges in patronage, according to a survey commissioned by The Times.
The survey, carried out by market research firm Misco International, has shown that while 79.6 per cent of respondents said they used the old bus service before the 2011 reform 49.9 per cent reported using Arriva now.
The telephone survey randomly polled 500 respondents between July 2 and 4. The new service came into force a year earlier on July 3, 2011.
While only 20.4 per cent of respondents said they did not use the service before the reform, the number of those saying they do not use the bus service now grew to 50.1 per cent.
The figures contradict statistics released by Transport Malta since the new service was introduced showing leaps in patronage.
When asked to comment on the survey results, the Transport Ministry argued that the poll surveyed perception and not actual patronage.
“Perception surveys confirm perception. They are not an indicator of actual passenger behaviour and, therefore, some of the conclusions you draw from your survey have no basis in fact,” the ministry said.
“Facts clearly show that there were 16.6 per cent more passengers using the bus service this June than at the same time last year. There were 7.8 per cent more passengers using the bus service between January and June this year than in the same period last year,” the government said.
Arriva was more cautious, pointing out that it had not issued any figures relating to patronage and, therefore, “could not comment on such data issued by third parties”.
A spokesman, however, did point to ever-stronger results being achieved, adding that the company had registered, through its own surveys as well as focus groups and face-to-face discussions, an increase in customer satisfaction.
The Misco survey also shows an increase in the number of people who say they are “very satisfied” with the bus service now as opposed to how it was before (31.1 per cent very satisfied now compared to 20.3 per cent very satisfied with the old system) but, otherwise, the figures are bad news for the reformed service.
For instance, the number of people who say they are “rather satisfied” actually dropped, from 57.9 per cent before the reform to 38.7 per cent now. Conversely, the number of people saying they were “rather dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” grew respectively from 15 and 5.4 per cent before the reform to 17.1 and 13.1 per cent now.
An element in the survey that could support the ministry’s commentary is the partisan divide that seems to influence people’s responses to the survey.
Because the survey was carried out in conjunction with questions that polled people’s voting intentions it was possible to analyse the responses in terms of how people claimed to have voted in the last election.
Generally speaking, Nationalist-leaning respondents were more dissatisfied with the old system and happier with Arriva while Labour-leaning respondents showed the opposite tendency.
For instance, of those who said they were “very satisfied” with the old system, 18 per cent had voted PN in the last election and 39.3 per cent had voted for Labour. Similarly, 51.1 per cent of the respondents were “very dissatisfied” with the old system had voted PN and only 5.5 per cent of Labour-leaning respondents were very dissatisfied.
50.1%
say they do not use the bus service now, up from 20.4% before the reform.
The situation is almost reversed with the responses concerning the Arriva service. Only 5.8 per cent of PN-leaning respondents are “very dissatisfied” with the service now, compared to 57 per cent of respondents who said they voted Labour.
The situation is more even with the less extreme responses, where people either said they were rather satisfied or rather dissatisfied.
The jury is still out on whether the survey results reflect reality but they do reflect responses received by timesofmalta.com as part of a Have Your Say appeal made for the first anniversary of the reform.
More than 300 commentators scurried to timesofmalta.com to have their say one year on from the launch of the new bus service. Here is a selection of what they had to say.
Thomas Mifsud
Everything’s the same like the traditional yellow buses, except for the colour: they’re now blue, and the fares: they’re now higher.
Mary Spiteri
There is always room for improvement but I think today everyone can notice the difference... we even have better air, because of less exhaust fumes. We used to suffocate behind a bus, today we don’t.
A. Anderson
I like the air-conditioning and the service frequency is OK too. But with regard to fares... I’ve never been anywhere in Europe where a non-local is charged differently from a local. This is pure discrimination. Must admit, never felt more ashamed to be Maltese when my husband and I were charged different prices.
Edward Clemmer
The daily commute between Msida and Valletta is a pleasure: sufficient buses to catch and thank God for the air conditioning. I have definitely left the car at home and buy my weekly €2.30 senior citizen pass. Great convenience, even though I walk the length of Valletta to get to my destination and back to the terminus. At least I get some guaranteed exercise twice a day.
Brian Darmanin
Here is one idea that might improve the current public transport system... All Arriva employees from the chair down should, as a condition of their employment, be made to travel to and from work by public transport... I am quite certain that, should this initiative be taken up, Arriva’s service will improve drastically, if not overnight, rather rapidly.
Joseph Cuschieri
Unfortunately, after a whole year they are still miles behind the service we had before. And, please, don’t mention the air conditioning units, well educated drivers et al. All we daily customers need is a service running on time... This is not what we were promised for sure. Furthermore, on occasions I have tried to get my complaints through to Arriva customer care but the only answer from them is an acknowledgement.
Joseph Cauchi
I am utterly satisfied when I compare today’s service with the old vintage service of yesteryear. Although it is not 101 per cent perfect, but moving in that direction, it’s like comparing day with night. Keep it up Arriva, I am one of your frequent users as I have found out it is more convenient and economical to use the Arriva service than using my own transport.
Mark Wuntoo
We have holidayed in Malta five times. Last year, we vowed not to return, only because of getting around (or not getting around). Compared to the old system, it is difficult to get around, the buses are crowded or don’t turn up, the drivers need to have driving lessons. In London, we were glad to see the end of the dangerous bendy-buses. Why didn’t the Malta government ask us why we wanted to get rid of them?
John Bonnici
With regard to routes and punctuality, I think we were better when we were worse.
TRANSPORT MINISTRY'S REACTION
In a reaction to The Times story, Amanda Ciappara Communications Coordinator at the Ministry of Trabsport wrote:
"Your title “Old buses are more popular than Arriva” in your newspaper today is an utterly incorrect reading of statistics. We challenge you to publish in full, perhaps online, the full report of the survey you commissioned including the demographics of your respondents that will, almost certainly, confirm what we will be pointing out and what should have been obvious to anyone interested in the facts.
You asked respondents who have travelled independently for longer that the previous 12 months of their lives whether they ever used the bus before last July and since. Anyone older than 19 years of age who had used the bus before driving age and not once since then will have answered yes to using the old system and no to using the new one.
This is an utterly irrelevant premise to the conclusion mistakenly carried by your title. Indeed your facts get nowhere near contradicting the official statistics that more people use the bus today than last year.
Your misreading of the data you commissioned whether intentional or not is but another episode in the polarisation of a debate which is then reflected in your matching of satisfaction response with the declared political affiliation of the respondents."