The Malta Buses [antikvár]

FOREWORD"The Malta Buses" is a sequel to our earlier "The Malta Railway - Il-Vapur ta' 1-Art". The choice of subject is deliberate since the buses took over where the railway left off. Although buses commenced services on Malta in 1905, it was not until March 31,1931, the very day of the railway shut down that the Traffic Control Board, the local transport watchdog, came into being.The book takes the reader through the early years of motorised public transport and its consolidation until 1980. This year was an historical watershed; the old numbers were changed and several old buses were replaced by "complete" imports from the UK. At the end of the story is a photo file featuring most of Malta's post war buses. The size of this file and its implications beyond 1980 make an explanation necessary.In the course of our researches we discovered that the Public Service Vehicle Circle of England had compiled a master file on Malta's buses. This formed the basis of PSVC publications 054 (June 1980) and an update OFI (July 1987). The PSV Circle kindly gave us permission to quote from both publications for our intended final section of the book, a list of Malta's buses.That was the situation until we met Charles Schembri (Kalora) a former bus driver and PSV enthusiast extraordinary. With his unlimited knowledge and photographs, Charles made it possible to change a simple list into a near complete photo file. This section now constitutes the larger part of the book and hopefully will serve as a useful reference work and update. Looking back, it is a pleasure to recall the hours we spent grilling Charles; those hours were for him a veritable enj oyable busman's holiday! It would be presumptuous to think of this list as complete and accurate given the complexity of the subject and dearth of available information. We think that with Charles' help it is as complete and correct as is currently obtainable. We trust that the inferior quality of some of the photographs will not lessen the photo file's reference value for posterity.Government owned buses are omitted from the photo file beacuse this book is, above all, the story of individuals and their families. The post-warperiod was characterised by extensive rebuilding of pre-war buses from normal to forward control. This gave them rounded fi-onts, a modern look, extra seats and plenty of space for extra headlamps and grille decoration. Forward control buses were nicknamed Bulldog (pronounced with a long "a" as in "Baal"). Most Bulldog fronts sport a Bedford SB grille. These constitute the largest post war group, followed by Ford Thames, former Army Dodges and Bedford OBs.The grille itself and reference to chassis, body and engine can be misleading because most buses are in a continual state of modification and refitting. Several numbers are repeated in the photo file as a result of this or because owners invest in newer buses while the older ones are exchanged, sold for other service or scrapped. With so many baffling changes it is probably more correct to think of Malta's buses up to 1980 as a mechanical hybrid of different manufacturers' parts ingeniously procured and fitted, the end result being a credit to local mechanics and a pride to their owner. In theory this gives buses an unlimited lifespan. A list of old and new numbers is given at the end of the book because paradoxically, many of the old buses are still known by their old number despite a ten year break!We would like to thank Charles Schembri, Richard Caruana, the PSV Circle, John Brewer of Bristol, Sebastian Darmanin, Messrs. Gasan, the Police Department, Emmanuel Galea, Secretary of the General Transport Union and several bus owners/drivers who loaned us photographs and gave useful advice. Finally we would like to thank Mid-Med Bank for their assistance in producing this book.A boon or a bane; to evoke or provoke - that seems to be the lot of Malta's buses. The Maltese are highly critical of them, but visitors are fascinated. Transport pioneers, unwelcome prophets in their own country, the quintessence of all things Maltese - to the buses and the busmen this book is dedicated.Joseph Bonnici, Michael Cassar.Valletta, December, 1989VII