CHAPTER 17: ARRIVA MALTA: BUSINESS CONTINUITY WITHIN A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME – ROBERT CLARK

Malta is a former British colony which lies in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. Located less than 100 km to the south of the Italian island of Sicily, the Maltese archipelago is made up of a small group of islands, three of which are inhabited – Malta, Gozo and Comino. Malta is the largest of the islands and is approximately 27 by 19 km, giving it a land mass of 316 km². Its 2012 GDP was in excess of US$8 billion. With a combined population of over 400,000, Malta is the most densely populated member state of the European Union. It is considered by International Living Magazine to have the best climate worldwide.

Owned by Deutsche Bahn, Arriva is a leading transport services provider and operates buses and trains across 12 European countries. In 2010, the company was awarded a 10 year contract to replace the vintage bus service on the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo. The company was expected to operate 264 buses and employ around 920 people. The following year Arriva announced that it had deployed 285 buses and was employing 1,230 staff, making it one of the top five employers across the islands.

Having lived in Malta for several years, the author has first-hand experience of the foibles of public transport across the archipelago both before and since Arriva’s appearance on the scene. In this case study he considers the events since the commencement of Arriva’s operation and the business continuity management issues for a contract that he believes became something of a poisoned chalice.

Tourists returning from a trip to Malta would more often than not talk fondly of the old buses. Although on average they were 35 years old, the chassis of the oldest operational bus amongst those classics is alleged to have been built in 1919. Some of the models in service were no longer used anywhere else in the world. While loved by tourists, they were not much fun for the locals who had to travel on them day in and day out, but the service worked.

There were over 500 buses registered although not all were used every day. The service was centred on the capital Valletta; consequently, with the vast majority of journeys either starting or ending at the capital’s bus terminus, relatively local journeys could take far longer by bus than by using a more direct route by car. Belching out noxious black plumes of exhaust smoke, the buses were recognized as major contributors to local air pollution. None were fitted with air conditioning to cater for the scorching hot summer days, nor was the seating designed with any thought for people with long legs. Moreover, the vast majority were not user friendly for anyone with a physical disability, as there were often several steps up to the vehicle’s deck. But at midnight on 2 July 2011 all that changed.

The dawning of the Arriva era

‘We totally underestimated the resistance to change. It was now up to the operator (Arriva) to deliver the service under contract.’ Austin Gatt, Former Minister of Transport, Malta.

By 3 July 2011 these relics from a bygone era had disappeared from Maltese roads and were replaced by the aquamarine-liveried buses of Arriva. They were air conditioned, had comfortable seating with ample legroom and the low floors were wheel chair friendly. Route changes meant every district in Malta now had direct access to the main hospital, Mater Dei, and the airport was also served by seven direct express bus routes, whereas before travel via Valletta was a necessity.

The new fleet was primarily made up of King Long buses constructed in China, supported by Mercedes Benz O530G Citaro articulated buses that were formerly operated by Arriva in London and could carry three times the passenger load of the largest King Long vehicles. The King Long buses met the European ’Euro V’ engine standard while the articulated buses were in line with ‘Euro III’.

The departure of the old buses meant that Maltese tourism lost a much loved icon – but it also heralded the start of a new sport across the islands, ‘Arriva Bashing’. Where did this resistance to change come from?

One third of drivers never turned up

The new service did not get off to an auspicious start. Approximately one third of the contracted and trained drivers, many of whom had driven the old buses, did not turn up for work. Arriva had invested time and money training these drivers prior to the changeover, with both sides entering into a contractual agreement. Even so, the writing had been on the wall at least two days before changeover as drivers expressed their dissatisfaction with shift rosters.

Choice changeover dates

Arguably one of the key mistakes was the changeover date. Even though schools had closed for the summer, the islands were full of tourists. With the vast majority of new bus shelters still to be constructed, there was little protection from the sun for the many people waiting for buses that either turned up full or never turned up at all.

Arriva website crashes

To compound the day-one chaos Arriva’s website crashed, making bus timetable information inaccessible.

While computer techies were left to sort the website, within a day or two British Arriva bus drivers started appearing. Not speaking Maltese was not a problem as English is an official language on the island, and many overseas students in fact travel to Malta to learn English. These drivers did not know the routes, however, and had to be given a crash course on arrival.

Passengers and drivers totally confused by new routes

Transport Malta worsened the situation by introducing a new set of bus routes. This caused much confusion among passengers used to the old system, and many felt the changes were unnecessary. Although the Arriva bus fleet now boasted a carrying capacity of 6,000 more passengers than the old buses, the actual number of buses was almost halved. Consequently, new routes were needed to reflect the reduced size of the fleet. Despite several changes to routes and schedules since the changeover, this issue has never gone away and criticism from the travelling public persists.

‘The disastrous launching of the service was partly down to the lack of proper planning of routes and partly due to the no-show of a third of Arriva’s drivers on the first day of service. Adding this with the country’s intrinsic propensity to oppose change did not make it easy for the Anglo-German transport company.’ – Jurgen Balzan, MediaToday.

Complaints about various aspects of the new service came thick and fast, although it was unfair to blame Arriva for them all. For example, the company was not responsible for the new routes. Other complaints could be placed fairly and squarely at Arriva’s door. Drivers would often take advantage of their new and more powerful vehicles by speeding, particularly if they were running late. Some would accelerate away from bus stops before passengers had chance to seat themselves, others would brake hard at the last moment when approaching bus stops. Reports of passenger injuries were not uncommon.

Why can’t the buses stay on schedule?

Delays were the source of many grievances, although to be fair they were caused by a variety of circumstances which were sometimes outside of Arriva’s control:

• Congestion, particularly during rush hours and school term time. With the Arriva buses in the main much larger than their classic predecessors, negotiating narrow and busy streets was never going to be easy
• Passengers stopping buses just to ask where the bus is going (both locals and tourists), despite the fact that comprehensive route information was provided at each stop.
• Time delays in issuing tickets. Other countries insist that you must have purchased a ticket before you board the bus.
• Badly or illegally parked cars – a problem endemic in Malta despite the recent introduction of traffic wardens
• Some drivers ignored passengers at bus stops who are quite clearly flagging them down, even when the buses were not full.

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a major cause of delays for all Maltese motorists, including Arriva. Malta has a number of pinch-points on its roads and even the smallest of RTA’s can lead to very lengthy delays. Such an incident was experienced by the author on 1 October 2013, involving a journey from his home in Ta l’Ibragg to the bus stop at Mater Dei Hospital. The Arriva timetable estimated the journey time as 11 min but it took 95 min. The cause was an RTA that occurred on a roundabout approaching the hospital, where two vehicles had had a minor collision in which no one was hurt. Because this took place on a feeder road for an industrial estate, however, the resulting congestion in all directions was substantial.

Maltese law actually slows down the process of clearing the roads after an accident. In general, the respective drivers cannot move their vehicles until after a traffic warden has attended the scene and taken details and photographs. By comparison, UK, drivers are only obliged to exchange details for insurance purposes while the police do not need to attend the scene unless someone has been injured. Except when a vehicle needs recovering, once details are exchanged the drivers are free to go about their business.

These delays not only affect Arriva passengers but all road users and the lost productivity has a cost to the local economy. To aggravate the author’s own frustration, the bus was stationary for two or three minutes outside the building he was visiting but the driver would not let him exit the bus as it was not an official bus stop.

It’s just not good enough!

Four months after the cutover, the governing body Transport Malta was less than satisfied with the new service, and issued a stark warning to Arriva:

‘It slammed the ‘unacceptable’ service of the public transport operator and gave it until the end of November to bring it up to scratch. Otherwise, it would deploy its own buses at Arriva’s expense.’ – (Peregin, 2012).

Arriva acknowledged that the service on some routes was not reaching the contractual requirement and stated that it would deploy additional buses. Twelve months on and Parliament heard that in the first 16 months since the Arriva operation had started, Transport Malta had received 2,917 complaints. But let us put this into perspective; during that same period, over 30 million passengers used public transport. Those complaints represent an incredibly small percentage (0.01%) of those who used the service. The author overheard one elderly Maltese lady grumbling about the Arriva service. He enquired if would she have been happier if the old buses had stayed and was very firmly told ‘no way!’

Did the Arriva fiasco cause the government’s downfall?

In March 2013, the country held a general election. The ‘Partit Nazzjonalista’ had been in power for 25 of the previous 27 years, but suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of Joseph Muscat’s ‘Partit Laburista’. Although there may be many reasons for the size of the defeat, some argue that the Arriva catastrophe had a large part to play. One Partit Nazzjonalista MP said after the defeat:

‘The public transport reform, introducing Arriva on our streets, was a massive disaster.’ – Hon. Beppe Fenech Adami MP.

Racism on the buses

Once a Maltese male dominated profession, it would appear that anyone can now become a Maltese bus driver. It is not unusual to see women behind the wheel while the workforce is becoming multinational. This has led to another serious issue, however – racism. The author has witnessed racially motivated verbal abuse directed at black drivers and passengers. The local media has also reported both verbal and physical abuse against drivers, with a black woman driver being insulted because of the colour of her skin. A second bus driver, an Italian national who came to her aid, was also physically abused which necessitated police intervention. In a separate incident, a Polish expat witnessed a verbal attack carried out by Arriva employees against a black passenger.

The saga of the ‘Bendy-Bus’

A further bone of contention in Malta has been articulated buses, otherwise known as ‘Bendy-Buses’. Rejected by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, over 60 of these bendy-buses became the backbone of the Arriva fleet. But at the end of August 2013 three bendy-buses caught fire on consecutive days, although Arriva suspected at least one instance of arson. Fires in bendy-buses are certainly not unprecedented – in London they were nicknamed ‘chariots of fire’.

At the insistence of the government, the entire fleet was withdrawn from service while safety checks were performed. With a carrying capacity of 140 passengers, they transported over 40% of the Maltese travelling public. Their withdrawal presented Arriva with a huge logistical nightmare. This also occurred at about the same time that Arriva Malta posted a €35 million loss for its first two years of operation.

Contingency plans were put into action. Several of the old buses were brought back into service and a number of local coach firms were used to fill the gap. Putting this into perspective, it needed approximately three 52-seater coaches to replace one bendy-bus. The daily cost to Arriva was reported as being in the order of €30,000 per day, which was not sustainable in the longer term. None of the replacement coaches had machines for issuing tickets to passengers. Although Arriva made it clear that no one should travel without a valid ticket, it was simply not possible for many passengers to pre-purchase a ticket unless they happened to start their journey where an Arriva official was available. With 850 bus stops on the island of Malta alone, there were simply too many for the company to man them all. Consequently, revenue was lost as many passengers enjoyed free rides.

‘Unfortunately they (bendy-buses) have become the butt of many jokes.’ – Joe Mizzi, Transport Minister, Malta.

The transport minister and Transport Malta have made no secret of the fact that they want to see the back of the bendy-bus. They are considered too big for the islands’ narrow roads, despite meeting the original dimension criterion laid down by the governing body. Unless Arriva fails to satisfy the minister over the safety concerns, however, the government is contractually tied and can do little about them short of renegotiating the contract. Many people feel that the sheer size of bendy-buses causes traffic congestion. Since their withdrawal congestion has eased, a point which even Arriva have acknowledged. Further research has, however, attributed the reduced congestion to the inability of replacement coaches to issue tickets, with the result that they are stationary for less time.

It all ended in tears

In December 2013, the local press reported Transport Minister Joe Mizzi’s statement that the bendy-bus fires were not caused by arson. This was immediately met by a counter claim from Arriva that they were. The reality is that the safety inquiry report was inconclusive and provided no firm proof either way; the jury is still out on the matter.

With Arriva continuing to make big losses in Malta, the company had already hinted that it might simply pull out of the country all together. Transport Minister Joe Mizzi claims to have an effective contingency plan in place, but creating a replacement public transport system overnight would be no mean feat.

‘But what about a Plan B? There isn’t any and present chaos would be nothing compared to the situation if Arriva pulls out without an acceptable substitute. And this is not something one invents within a couple of months.’ – Richard Caruana.

The bankruptcy option

Negotiations between the government and Arriva continued for weeks. It seemed that Arriva was seriously considering the option of putting its Maltese operation into the hands of the receiver. This would have resulted in all its assets, and in particular the buses, being frozen, leaving the country with no public transport system. Malta would have fallen foul of only having one supplier, without any viable alternative replacement options waiting in the wings. With many people totally dependent upon public transport to get to work, the impact on the local economy would have been horrendous. But those Maltese citizens who wished Arriva gone finally got their way when the company officially announced its departure from Malta in January 2014.

Reflection by Transport Malta

‘The radical, overnight change of the public transport system; its operator, route network, drivers, infrastructure, information, ticketing etc. was not without planning, technical and operational problems. The past 12 months, will serve as an important learning experience for the planning and execution of any future transport changes at a national level. Now that the new public transport bus services are in place and the first year of operation indicates a growth in patronage levels full operation, the main challenge facing both government and the operator will be how to improve of reliability of bus services in traffic and how to encourage further modal shift away from the private car.’ – (Transport Malta, 2013).

What does the future hold for Maltese public transport?

An objective of Malta’s ‘Intelligent Traffic Solution’ action plan is to encourage car drivers to switch over to public transport, an objective shared by many developed nations. This in turn will put more pressure on Arriva’s successor to provide a fully comprehensive and reliable service. With buses on busy routes already often full at peak times, the public transport system is presented with a potentially insurmountable challenge. Congestion charging along the lines of London has already been implemented in the capital city, Valletta, and could be rolled out across the country.

The bendy-buses are to play no part in this initiative, having been sold to an African country. Each one will need to be replaced with at least three of the largest King-Long buses (or an equivalent), plus the corresponding number of drivers to operate them. Arriva were constantly looking for new drivers during their tenure, despite searching far beyond Malta for staff, so whether this objective is really achievable remains in doubt. Advertisements have been spotted in both the UK and Spain for English speaking bus drivers. Even the Irish social services apparently alerted at least one job seeker to bus driving opportunities in Malta.

Yet, was Arriva really doing such a bad job, especially when Transport Malta has acknowledged that 90% of all services are now working as per contract? Arriva Malta carried 18 million people in its first six months of operation, a 2 million increase on the same period the previous year. When it comes to encouraging car drivers to switch to public transport, this was certainly a major step in the right direction.

Lessons learned

Unlike other operations that Arriva has taken over across Europe, in Malta they started with a blank canvass. No buses to take over, a new set of routes and a very high expectation of how good the service was going to be. There was no softly-softly approach, no incremental change; it was a massive big bang switch from the old order to the new. Anything short of perfection was going to be seen as a failure by the Maltese travelling public. This was not so much a business continuity exercise as a massive change management programme, but there was a distinct need for business continuity to be an integral part of the plan.

What went well

• With only two-thirds of the drivers initially reporting for work, Arriva got off to a disastrous start. The speedy deployment of UK bus drivers certainly took some of the strain off the situation.
• The day after the bendy-buses were withdrawn from service, local coach firms were used to successfully plug the gap. While this contingency plan worked, however, the €30,000 daily cost would not be sustainable in the long term. Every local coach deployed not only represented a cost to Arriva, it also resulted in lost revenue as they were not equipped with ticketing machines.

Would could have been done better

• The expectations of public transport users in Malta could have been much better managed by the government and Transport Malta. Many believed a total transformation for the better would happen overnight.

What did not go well

• One third of the trained and contracted drivers did not report for work on day one of Arriva’s new operation. Most of the missing drivers never showed up at all. Compared with the service being run up to 2 July 2011, Arriva immediately found itself on the back foot.
• To add to the misery, the Arriva website, complete with timetable information, failed on day one with no apparent fall-back options.
• The revamped bus routes turned out to be a disaster. Even though the travelling public tended to blame Arriva, this change was actually instigated by Transport Malta.
• Buses were often found to be too big to negotiate narrow Maltese streets and were frequently delayed by inconsiderate local parking habits.

Other observations

There are other pressing safety issues that whoever replaces Arriva will need to address. The local press frequently carries reports of road traffic accidents involving buses. Many of these incidents are caused by bad driving practices that make disasters inevitable. The author has personally observed:

• That new buses are more dangerous because they are bigger and can be driven faster than their archaic predecessors. Speed limits are frequently ignored, as roadside speed indication monitors often demonstrate.
• Drivers will often drive away from a bus stop while still issuing tickets and dispensing change, without their full attention on the road ahead
• Drivers regularly use mobile phones while driving which is both illegal and dangerous
• Despite regulations to the contrary, drivers often allow passengers to travel on the footplate beside them and frequently engage in conversation. The author has even observed one driver steering the bus single-handed with one arm wrapped around a young lady standing beside him

Arriva seemed to be continually recruiting drivers, although perhaps some attrition is to be expected with a workforce of 800. The company is also employing part-time drivers to allow better flexibility in shift patterns for full-time drivers.

Conclusion

Whoever replaces Arriva has to learn the lessons from their failure; but they will also have to win the hearts and minds of the Maltese people. Not an easy task. When the author has chatted with fellow passengers, however, he has never found one that preferred riding on the old buses!

The Maltese archipelago is no stranger to miracles. From the biblical record of St Paul’s shipwreck to a World War II bomb that failed to explode when it fell amongst a packed congregation in the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Mosta. Maybe Arriva were also expected to deliver a miracle too. Perhaps a fitting epitaph marking their exit from Malta should be: ‘the impossible we can do immediately but miracles were always going to take a little longer’.