Updated: Arriva bus tyres may not be suitable for Maltese roads - PL spokesman

(Adds ministry's reply) A number of Arriva buses have had their tyres changed and the new ones were hard and not suitable for Malta’s roads, PL transport spokesman Joe Sammut said this afternoon. Addressing a news conference he said this this observation was made by industry sources, which he did not name, and called on the Malta Standards Authority to verify the claims. Dr Sammut cast doubts on the level of maintenance Arriva had on its buses. He said that given that the buses were being used continuously, common sense and logic dictated that not enough maintenance was carried out. On the latest accident at Portes des Bombes, Dr Sammut asked whether the ABS braking system was working properly. He also asked, given the state of some Arriva buses, whether VRT tests were being carried out. On the issue of the adequacy of the choice of drivers, he suggested this was not in line with good practice. Dr Sammut said Arriva could not be the instructor, examiner and licence issuer. The lack of drivers, he said, was the result of Transport Malta’s insistence to prevent experienced drivers who had a tainted police conduct from applying for the job. Some of these drivers, he said, had been...