Updated: Muscat reacts as ministry denies secret Arriva deal

Updated  with Joseph Muscat's reaction The Transport Ministry this afternoon denied claims that the government had reached a secret deal with Arriva for higher subsidies on and beyond 2014. Referring to the speech in Parliament yesterday by the Leader of the Opposition, the ministry said Dr Muscat's remarks were total invention. It said that Dr Muscat had, in writing, information on how much the company would be paid for the 10 years of the contract. The subsidy being given to the company was well below what used to be given to the ATP - the former bus service operator. In its last year, the ATP was paid €10 million while Arriva would be paid €6.4 million per year (the sum was €4.6m per year before the routes were changed). Arriva was being paid less despite the fact that its buses covered many more kilometres than the buses in the old service, and despite the introduction of new buses, the ministry said. The ministry said €1.6m per year were being paid for the operation of the bus service in Gozo, was before was practically inexistent. Meanwhile, Arriva in a separate statement clarified points carried in a story in The Times today. Fabien Courtellemont, Commercial Director, said...