‘Passengers not hostages – the door was just faulty’

The bus driver who allegedly held passengers “hostage” did not purposely lock the vehicle’s door but was in fact unable to open it due to a fault he had reported earlier in the day, according to the transport authorities. Transport Malta and Malta Public Transport said the incident, which occurred on Wednesday on route 31 leaving Buġibba, was characterised by miscommunication between the Italian driver and British passenger John Kane. “It was a situation which definitely could have been handled better and we apologise for the inconvenience caused,” Malta Public Transport CEO Konrad Pulé told Times of Malta. “Following internal investigations, we would like to stress that the passengers were not kept hostage. The emergency exit was opened by the driver and no one attempted to disembark.” More on Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.