Bus stops

Any use?
http://www.maltabybus.com/

A nice diagrammatic map of the new services has been produced by Ben Calascione and can be found at www.maltabusroutes.com.

There is a rough and ready Arriva timetable summary (largely for my own use) valid as at March 2012. There are two 5-page pdf files showing departures from principal points firstly in route number order and, more usefully, in placename order. This draft version will be further improved in due course.

I usually call the customer number on the website and always found the operators really helpful, I just tell them exactly where i need to go and they tell which bus and which busstop i need to use
Giuseppina

redmik wrote:

A nice diagrammatic map of the new services has been produced by Ben Calascione and can be found at www.maltabusroutes.com.

There is a rough and ready Arriva timetable summary (largely for my own use) valid as at March 2012. There are two 5-page pdf files showing departures from principal points firstly in route number order and, more usefully, in placename order. This draft version will be further improved in due course.

Howdee Mick...

great research there fella.  Oh how it's changed from the heady days of the late 70's eh?  I don't know which I actually prefer......the colourful buses of days gone by, the new 'air conditioned, late, bumped, unreliable, 'in-the-pocket' buses of today....or the Maltese Army 7 ton trucks we climbed in and out of during the bus strike of '78 (through which I saw...for the first time...my beautiful Rose).  Hmmmm! hard one this.....somehow the phrase "people don't know they are.......etc etc comes to mind).

Orft next week Sir?..... I am so envious I hurt.  Take care mate and will have those beers when you are settled.

Mike

Thanks Mike and there's many a beer with our (and Jim's) names on, waiting for us. I'll try not to drink them all before you arrive
:-)
Just to say many's the time I used to travel from Luqa to Xlendi by bus, just to spend the day there and on the way back stop off at The Spaghetti House in Valletta for dinner.
So, if the runway's clear we are off next week, so see you soon!

Hi Jitka,

my way is probably not the most sophisticated, but when I have to take the bus to a location which is new to me, first I check the address on google maps, which also show the closest bus stop locations and names. Then I go to arriva website and in the journey planner I check which buses go from our place to my destination. Then I download the needed  bouse routes (in pdf) and check that one of our bus stops and my destination stop in on the same line, but I never reply on the bus arrival times, I just make sure that I have plenty of time even if the bus does not come on time or never.

We lived in Prague for 8 years and I sorely miss the Prague Public Transport search, when you just typed in your  start and destination and got all the travel possibilities with times and  route numbers  and even was updated with roadworks and other changes.

Buses are a mess here (never in time, etc).

But the main problem when you check your itinary on google maps, is that bus stop names... are different than the actual ones.
Adding that there is no single map of the bus lines which can be found in the bus or even anywhere else (unbelievable), knowing where (and when) to stop while in the bus when you need to go somewhere is often like playing a guessing game.

I also really really dislike that way of making tourists (or people who doesn't have any maltese ID card) pay more for the tickets (almost double the price) than the locals...

Frediy wrote:

I also really really dislike that way of making tourists (or people who doesn't have any maltese ID card) pay more for the tickets (almost double the price) than the locals...

I know there are discrimination issues attached to this but I have no problem with paying extra when I visit. I don't think that any tourist minds either as the cost to most of them is lower than the countries they come from and they subsidise the scheme for some locals who maybe can't afford  as easily.
Mind you, when I get there permanently I will have a Kartanzjan

Questions. How much money does an Arriva Saver Card actually save please? Do they actually save money for the residents or is it just a handy way of paying?

Thanks a lot for your comments, especially RedMik. I have been without the Internet for a while. That is why I reply so late. I will definitely check the suggest websites.