"Oh it's a Good Life on the Buses..."

I think Maltese buses and their drivers have appeared before in this blog. Well now I've experienced another side to them, and it's not good.

This week, I am traveling to the office at lunchtime and returning late at night. It seems I have to plan to catch a bus at least an hour before I need to - a lot of the buses are full and won't stop.

It can be quite frustrating, just like in UK, there is the cliche you wait thirty minutes for a bus and three turn up at once. The same is true here, but you take your chances that any of them will actually respond when you stick your hand out. Today I set off in plenty of time, but watched in horror as bus after bus sailed past.

The other dilemma is getting home at night. The later it gets, the quieter the buses get, but also they become less frequent. I have no way of knowing if another one is coming if I stand at the bus stop nearest to the office, or whether the last one of the night has just whizzed by. I also run the risk that on one particular night the last bus happens to be popular so as soon as it's full it decides not to pick up any more passengers - me included.

Maltese bus drivers are grumpy at the best of times - but I bet they take great pleasure in watching you curse them and make rude hand gestures in their general direction...

...out of their rear view mirror as they drown you in exhaust fumes.

p.s. I didn't take the picture myself, but that is one of the more modern Maltese buses - and the 64 is actually one of the routes I take :)