Malta Busses

The busses in the Republic of Malta are not "cast offs" from England but rather, were state of the art when they arrived. Diesel engines that last for ever, and a frame which can withstand years of use even over rough roads. Malta's roads are not rough, (although people complain about them incessantly!) because they are built on rock, and its true that like everything in Malta, there is just not enough money available to do ALL the repairs, even though the need repairs a lot less than say, Canada, with its frost which lifts the metalling. I don't think a Canadian bus would have such beautiful chrome by this time...the road salt would have pretty much put paid to it! Click on the image of that nice old Ford and marvel at the hood ornament. Its a long way from Detroit!

You enter the bus on its left, because Malta, like Cyprus, follows British rules of the road. The driver is on the right hand side.
There are more modern busses gradually phasing in to replace these old "bone shakers", but as the owners (they are all privately owned) say, "this one is paid for".



So this is quaintness in its best and most functional form.