Bus fare question

just as for a local ticket.... you will probrably have to show your ID card but from what i have been told, just say that you have had your wallet stolen before and that you dont carry it... may work may not ...

I am so sure that this is illegal for them to differentiate in such a blatant way

Hi Tim,

I took the bus on Monday and just showed my ID card like older folks show their Carte Anzjen to get a cheap ticket. The bus driver himself was not well trained in communicating the ticket prices as I heard him say in an argument later on that 'foreigners' pay the higher price. Of course that is exactly what the EU would like to hear to fine Arriva for their price system.

So far no decision has been taken by the EU.

You should always take the day ticket if you are returning by bus as it is cheaper and you can actually pass the ticket on to somebody else if you have finished travelling for the day -))))

Just make sure it is passed on to someone with an ID card as it says Ad ID on the ticket.

Cheers and Arriva
Ricky

So if the old ticket was 47 cents, what is the 'price' of the new ticket?

So far, every time I get on the bus, the machine 'isn't' working and I haven't paid for my ride......

There is actually a 3 tier system (plus OAP, child and student rates) namely

Gozo residents
Malta Residents
non-residents

From the Arriva website, here is an overview of ticket types:
http://www.arriva.com.mt/tickets-and-fares?l=1

And here are details of the fares:
http://www.arriva.com.mt/fare-information?l=1

After waiting over an hour the first time I tried the buses, then getting charged 2.60 for a one way ticket, despite showing my ID card I've given up on them for now. It's a shame because it's so hot it's hard to walk anywhere and the aircon would be appreciated in getting to work!

I saw on the website that a monthly pass can be applied for and costs 26 euro which I think is a bargain but you have to first apply for a saver card (plus send a passport pic) THEN get the monthly card or something- just seems a lot of hassle and I'm super lazy!

May have to get it sorted soon though as my 'short' 20 minute walk when it's already 30+ degrees at 9am is killing me! If anyone has a saver card yet any info would be appreciated!

why pay for a one way ticket when you could have just paid for the 2hr ticket.....2.20....for non resident (i.e no id card)

if you had id card then you should have only paid 1.30 for the 2hr ticket and 1.50 for the all day....

sounds like the drivers need more training....

THe prices are:

Day pass for a Maltese ID card holder: 1.50
Day pass for non-Maltese ID card holder: 2.60

They wont ask you if you have a card, so have it ready when getting on the bus, and they will also check after you have bought the ticket and want to get on another bus with your day pass, so ensure you have it with you at all times.

If you don't show the ID card before being in the drivers line of sight, he will print you a tourist ticket and charge you for one.

Hi Guys,

Not living in Malta yet. But was on holiday the other week. If you have an ID card you can get a week pass for 6.50Euros.

24hr ticket for tourists was 2.60 euros. Which is better than 2.20 2hr ticket - who would buy a 2hr ticket? the way things are going just now its taking 2hours to get anywhere on one bus never mind managing to get a second or a return.

Luckily the whole system was mucked up and we pretty much got most of our bus trips for free - at least we had the spare time! Felt really sorry for the residents, especially if they didn't get the bus home from Valletta then they had zero change of getting on!

Miss the old buses, it was so much easier to get around. Now its seems they have longer routes with less frequency. The roads already have too many cars but what choice does the average working person have!

Retrofire wrote:

THe prices are:

Day pass for a Maltese ID card holder: 1.50
Day pass for non-Maltese ID card holder: 2.60

They wont ask you if you have a card, so have it ready when getting on the bus, and they will also check after you have bought the ticket and want to get on another bus with your day pass, so ensure you have it with you at all times.

If you don't show the ID card before being in the drivers line of sight, he will print you a tourist ticket and charge you for one.

are you sure as the way i understand it it the price difference is based on residency not on nationality. as a resident and to get the lower discounted fares you must have a id card. can anyone clarify this?

http://www.arriva.com.mt/fare-information

as far as i can see it doesnt state you have to be a maltese and hold an id card holder - just that you hold an id card issued by the malta governement department.

The maltese id card is for all residents not just Maltese nationals. So anyone with the id card issues by the electro commission office will receive the discounted price.

iamharibo quote.....After waiting over an hour the first time I tried the buses, then getting charged 2.60 for a one way ticket, despite showing my ID card I've given up on them for now. It's a shame because it's so hot it's hard to walk anywhere and the aircon would be appreciated in getting to work!

clearly not everyone is getting the discounted price and this is not the only person - I personally know of others who have been treated and overcharged this way.....drivers assuming the passengers want a full day ticket and making assumptions on residency....this needs to be resolved.

further why is it the routes are posted all over the bus but not the fares.......near the door would be a very simple idea...

It all definitely needs a lot of work and I am sure in time it will improve. It's just a bit of a nightmare for the moment!

In retrospect I should have gone for the 2hour ticket but I got the all day just in case I wanted to go out again later (which I didn't). I am glad that the prices are less for ID card holders however it would be nice if the drivers knew this! I was pretty certain I should have got it cheaper when I showed my card but he was adamant that was only if i had ID card AND some saver card thing.

Overall I am glad they've taken over as once it's sorted (if it gets sorted!) it will be better- more regular and aircon will be a god send...but for now I guess we can only hope it resolves itself soon!

Saver card only apples to 30 and 90 day passes
http://www.arriva.com.mt/arriva-saver-card?l=1

If you get charged the higher fare despite showing a local ID card, keep your receipt, and complain

iamharibo wrote:

I am glad that the prices are less for ID card holders however it would be nice if the drivers knew this!

I think most of them do.  I haven't had trouble with this issue myself, and I've travelled a fair few times now.  But undoubtedly there are blips, and I'm sorry to hear you ran into one.

An issue I am noticing at the moment concerns night bus tickets.  Somewhere around 2300 day buses are replaced by night buses and day tickets cease to be valid.  I have seen several disputes between passengers with day tickets and drivers who tell them they now need to buy night tickets.  These disputes can get a bit heated, and can go on for a while, delaying the journey.  Especially if many passengers want to argue the point.

Still, there are night buses, and it's good that they're there!

i can understand the arguments to a degree but i thought it was clear enough in the leaflets distributed.

My daughter got the lower priced fare today - thanks for all the info. Small victories.

Tim

I am sure it will eventually get sorted out to everyones satisfaction - we just have to wait a little longer.

Arriva denies discriminating against foreign-looking Maltese

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … ese.376954

Hi,
I've got on the bus today. I asked a discount ticket and the bus driver seemed surprised. He wanted to see my ID card. After being a little bit nervous with all racist things, I asked he should check all Maltese ID's. He said that he checks when he has doubts like with me, that is to say, my accent, my white color skin etc. He said, if a person speaks Maltese, he must have a Maltese ID. That's inept because a Maltese speaking doesn't have necessarily a Maltese ID if he is an expatriate. Though, maybe it's small probability but a bus driver doesn't have to ask a Maltese ID because I look like a non Maltese, tourist or from Mars.
Though, apparently, some bus drivers seem to ask all people their Maltese ID what begins to irritate some Maltese people here. What is the stupid hypocrite Maltese system.

Enemalta, Malta Transport, this is the same. In the facts, you are required to provide proofs, Id's because you don't look like a Maltese.

If the bus driver doesn't ask all people a Maltese ID, it is illegal from the European laws.
If Enemalta doesn't ask a tax return or anything else all people, it is also illegal.

By the way, the residency notion has no sense, the Maltese ID is not a proof that your primary residency is Malta. But a person who thinks, speaks and acts according to your name, skin color, clothes, accent etc it's called discrimination, that's all.

That smells yellow star all that. When you begin like this, you don't know where that will go. I learnt the past and my history book. Europe is a great idea, an opportunity, which must continue but I definitely don't feel myself an European in Malta.

I undestand what you are saying but it is the rules - that a discount ticket can only be given on production of a valid malta government issued ID Card.

As for the night bus question  - if you arrive at the bus stop before the deadline and there is a bus due at that stop prior to it and it doesnt turn up till late - then am sure your ticket should be allowed....I believe that this has happened quite a lot and it is wrong to charge passengers more ( i.e. night service rate) when the service is late.

It is a clear cut case of discrimination by Arriva!

They even admit that their bus drivers are discriminating.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … cks.380108

I just hope that Brussels comes to the right conclusions and reacts with more than a little slap on the hand.

Cheers
Ricky

I would agree with your last statement ricky, that Brussels needs to put a stop to this farce sooner rather than later - but am not so sure that its Arriva doing the discriminating (after all it is part of the contract) - drivers yes and as a result indirectly Arriva...but as far as I can see its the front line driver doing the discriminating against the "dreaded foreigner" Its still wrong in my opinion however you look at it. As for the slap - that should be directed to Transport Malta....for making this a requirement as it clearly cannot be controlled or enforced....and the id card issue is one of the many reasons for delayed services.

Hi toon

I agree with you that the criticism should really be directed at TM but I'm very sure that it is Arriva through the drivers discriminating by not asking each and every passenger for the Maltese ID card.

TM were for once quite smart coming up with the ID card based tarif system. I'm not so sure that it will be seen as discriminating by Brussels if the implementation via showing ID card were consequent.

But it isn't and it might not even be possible to do so and keep the buses running on time.

Bottom line is that Arriva signed the contract. That was their first big management mistake. The second big management mistake is admitting that some drivers,maybe many or nearly all,are not asking every passenger to show their ID card. They could have denied like they did before and instructed their drivers to absolutely comply with the rule! So admitting it makes it a clear case in my eyes!

You can just wonder over the possible reason: Stupidity,sabotage by the drivers once again or the Arriva managers might be doing it on purpose so that the two-tier system gets slapped and abolished?

Cheers and arriva -)))
Ricky

you may well be right - and id go further that each passenger requesting discounted fare must show their id card - irrespective of whether they are known to the driver or not, whether they speak Malti or not or whether they look malti or not - and an even better idea would be secret bus passengers (Like secret shoppers) inspectors acting as passengers unknown to the drivers reporting back on their findings.

but for me - this is being seen now by many tourists as just one more reason not to come to Malta.....great job Transport Malta, fleece the tourist - the only real industry the island has and at a stroke...ruin the islands prospects....

For the first time in my life, I lived and experienced racism as direct as now. I remember, we said, ''one day, Never that again, not anymore''. I discussed with a bus driver and I said he is a racist because he asks me my ID when he has doubts. Doubts of what?He added he doesn't ask maltese ID when people speak Maltese for example. I said, why a person speaking Maltese would be a resident in Malta?Why she would be a Maltese national?and all those questions. He stopped the bus and said he's calling the Police because I said he was a racist and it's an offense. After a few minutes where I couldn't get off the bus and when the people in the bus didn't react, the person on the phone must have told, keep driving.
I will say that I did this first time but I abandoned the other times.
When I've seen other times that white people and look like foreigners were showing ID cards, I was desperate and felt that it was obnoxious, disgusting.
I've learnt my History and I've learnt that people wore a yellow star. I've learnt that this is against the human rights and all good civilization principles to behave in such a way. Some will say, it's a detail, it's not so important. No, it is not. People fought for our freedom. People died. We can't stay indifferent to that.
We said one day, Never that again. The person who doesn't understand must learn the History. That day, I felt what people had to feel when some ones wore a yellow star in an indifferent world. We are different. We are never far from the worst. Never believe, it's a detail. A this time, it was also a detail to save the false Peace. I hope Europe won't be indifferent to that. We have other battles, not to fall in the nationalism in those bad times. Never that again...

well said John

I don't understand why everyone is so uptight regarding the bus ticketing. Most european countries run some sort of price structure that is biased towards residents, and why not as nearly all public transport systems are subsidised by local / national governments. Locals pay cheaper rates under various disguises such as free for pensioners etc, but, you have to prove it! if not pay the full price.
Anyone who thinks that if the EU rule against Malta the price will go down for non ID card holders is deluding themselves. Wait for the outcry when the prices go up to the " tourist " rate.
If you want the subsidised bus fare " show proof" I see nothing racist in that, the onus is on you not the bus driver.
Is holding a passport of your country of origin and having to show it when you travel "racist"? is holding a driving licence and having to show it if requested by police "racist"?
Why should people living on Gozo get free or reduced travel on the ferries, none of this is racist, just modern day living.

Most of these rules are a reaction to a small minority of people who want to break rules or do us harm, mostly in the name of "freedom" or religion.
The vast majority are happy to get the reduced fare and have no problem proving that they are entitled to the subsidy. The current bus fares are way below what you would pay in most european countries.
Yes the new bus service could have been better managed in its introduction and there is still a lot of room for improvment, but be carfull you don't throw the baby out with the bath water!
My rant over:D

you are missing the point - ""He added he doesn't ask maltese ID when people speak Maltese for example."- thats why its racist

i.d. should be asked of EVERY passenger WHEN ASKING FOR A REDUCED FARE whether they speak maltese or not and whether the look maltese or not and whether the driver knows them or not - its very simple. and is no different to that of pensioners producing the kartan zjan for their reduced fares. In my opinion the drivers need more training to ensure they enforce the rules evenly with everyone.

Hi tearnet,

I've lived in several european countries and used a lot of public transport services and have never come across one that offers discounts based on residency.

Discounts are usually based on travel off peak hours,buying a weekly,monthly or yearly ticket.And these are available to locals and foreigners alike at the same discounted price.

Could you please elaborate on which european countries or more probable , town or cities, ask for proof of residency to get cheaper tickets.

I agree that the ID card has to asked to be shown by everybody asking for a reduced rate if that is the system TM wants.

Cheers
Ricky

Example
Pensioners in the UK get cheap or free travel in the UK and have to show that they are UK pensioners to get the discount. A German/ French/ Spanish  pensioner on holiday will not get free travel in the UK. If they ask for it the driver will ask for proof.
The Maltese bus drivers are implementing a new system under pressure and inevitable will make errors of judgment or try to speed up the bus loading by making assumptions.
The answer is simple, don,t make them guess. If you want a discounted ticket have your ID card or whatever is required ready and show it before asking for the ticket.
I don't understand what the problem is?
If transport Malta said you could have half price petrol or diesel if you showed you Maltese ID card would you still refuse?

Well,

I just checked out two companies .... Southwest trains and Arriva , and your info is not correct. The cheap rates or ( in the case of Arriva) concessionary travel for over 60's are not coupled with a UK pension but with age. And any EU citizen showing a picture ID with age proof over 60 gets the same cheaper rates as UK citizens.

But , apart from that, the point you are now making is the point that we are all making! To get a discount you have to show your ID card or proof document that you are over a certain age. And here in Malta through Arriva it is not being handled that way as the Maltese are not showing their ID card.

Of course I show my ID card but I insist that the Maltese have to too ! Otherwise it is discrimination.

And of course I would take cheap or free petrol by showing my ID card if it was the same for Maltese residents.

And that is exactly the problem !

Cheers
Ricky

tearnet wrote:

The Maltese bus drivers are implementing a new system under pressure and inevitable will make errors of judgment

there is no judgement for them to make - they must ask everyone for ID, not just those who look foreign

its simple - "no ID, you pay tourist rate  - no exemptions"

good points.....this is so simple just abide by the rules - that includes the drivers......!

This is an example of a subsidised travel scheme currently run by the Scottish assembly.
You need to live there to take advantage.

http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironm … Scheme.htm

You are all expecting bus drivers who are under pressure to run to time and collect fares , not to cut a few corners in an attempt speed up the loading. Given the numbers of passengers carried daily, I would guess that the numbers involved are small.
Also if someone is a regular commuter thier faces may be known to the driver who will be aware that they do have an ID card, so doesn't ask ( I know you will say "but he should ask its the law").
If only we all did our jobs without making assumptions, life would be perfect!.