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ChezLouLou wrote:

Hi

best area is Paceville

We might help you in a good accommodation place for you

Best Regards

Lotfi

You're joking, right? That's like the worst place if he's relying on public transport, especially after the 202/203 bus doesn't go to Birkirkara anymore!

@Jethink: Mriehel Bypass is quite long - are you closer to the Balzan end or the Hamrun end?

I'd look into Birkirkara itself especially if you may even want to walk to work. Buses so far have not been reliable, either they don't come or they're full. I was late for a few job interviews even though I allowed an extra 1 1/2 hours! We live in Naxxar with a good connection to Birkirkara but it's a real gamble sometimes.

Also, we looked at some great apartments in Birkirkara. You get good value there.

blackangelheart wrote:

ChezLouLou wrote:

Hi

best area is Paceville

We might help you in a good accommodation place for you

Best Regards

Lotfi

You're joking, right? That's like the worst place if he's relying on public transport, especially after the 202/203 bus doesn't go to Birkirkara anymore!

@Jethink: Mriehel Bypass is quite long - are you closer to the Balzan end or the Hamrun end?

I'd look into Birkirkara itself especially if you may even want to walk to work. Buses so far have not been reliable, either they don't come or they're full. I was late for a few job interviews even though I allowed an extra 1 1/2 hours! We live in Naxxar with a good connection to Birkirkara but it's a real gamble sometimes.

Also, we looked at some great apartments in Birkirkara. You get good value there.

As i can see from google maps it's in the middle of mriehel road.
Do you think Birkirkara, Hamrun or Balzan are nice to place to live in?
Can you tell me what price range are for 2 bedroom apartments?

DavideM wrote:

Hi what about gzira? i'm planning to move on january/february...is it a good zone?

I live in Gzira and work in B'kara, but since the buses 202/203 stop driving to b'kara and walk to work, much easier then chaning 22 buses which are never on time

takes me 30 minutes to get to psaila street walking

for living in Gzira, yeah it very nice place

jethink wrote:

As i can see from google maps it's in the middle of mriehel road.
Do you think Birkirkara, Hamrun or Balzan are nice to place to live in?
Can you tell me what price range are for 2 bedroom apartments?

Sorry for the late reply, we only just got internet in our place! I don't live in these areas myself so I can't say if they're good but so far on this forum I've read only good things about Balzan. Birkirkara is a very large area, according to the Wikipedia the most populated town in Malta so it really depends where you live!

We looked at apartments in the Ta'Paris area (close to Mater Dei) which was very pleasant and purely residential. Perhaps a bit too quiet - no cafes or restaurants which is one of the reasons we didn't go for it in the end. Price range was €700-800 for large 3 beds (120+ sqm), very modern or even brand new.

I agree with MaltaAugust2014 that Pieta is often overlooked. Some parts of it can look a bit rough but there's plenty of stylish apartments and penthouses available now. We looked at a few places there, one 2 bed penthouse with a lovely terrace close to the hospital but sadly the landlady was horrible. Bonus: The Lidl in St Venera is really close. You'll be saving loads on food shopping.

kateblank wrote:

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

.

I needed a good laugh - the bus fiasco is dire tourist are paying 3 times as much per week , the majority of bus stops don't have timetables for the correct routes now , buses simply don't turn up or go on whatever route the driver can be bothered about and there is complete and utter confusion and a lot of buses have reduced frequency including from sliema to the airport and to the hospital

robpw2 wrote:

kateblank wrote:

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

.

I needed a good laugh - the bus fiasco is dire tourist are paying 3 times as much per week , the majority of bus stops don't have timetables for the correct routes now , buses simply don't turn up or go on whatever route the driver can be bothered about and there is complete and utter confusion and a lot of buses have reduced frequency including from sliema to the airport and to the hospital

Me, too Rob! First of all - walking to Sliema from St. Pauls Bay on a daily basis? I don't think so! I enjoy walking and do lots of it but 10km one way, wow!

The buses are a joke. They either a) don't come b) are too full or c) arrive too early presumably due to b) which saves time at some bus stops. Some numbers are completely missing from most stops whereas others shown don't go that route anymore. Bus timetables still missing or incorrect. There are four buses across the road from us and only 2 timetables displayed, one doesn't stop there anymore.

I have applied for a Tallinja card weeks ago and still nothing. My partner and I are both paying around €50 a month for transport each due to this! It's atrocious that you cannot buy a cheaper monthly pass and have to wait for this card to arrive (which might never happen).

I've been on buses where the driver simply changed the route and drove wherever he felt good. Luckily he could be bothered to stop in Naxxar. Some Maltese pointed it out and in the end they shouted at each other for 15 minutes (it was kind of amusing I have to say).

The biggest joke is MPT's website though. Some days it works, then on other it shows the worst connections and sometimes it displays the walking route only. Very useful - not!

Rant over

kateblank wrote:

You are incorrect. I use the buses 7 days a week, to get to work and to go other places around the island. All of the new timetables are up, and since December 20 (when the timetables and routes changed) only one of my buses has been late.

Also, that day we had the really hard rain, my bus broke down halfway to work, and a replacement bus was sent to pick us up in under 12 minutes.

People can complain about Arriva all they want, but this winter the buses are doing a very good job.

(And any tourist who bothers to do five minutes of reading can pay the same prices as a resident.)

blackangelheart wrote:

robpw2 wrote:

kateblank wrote:

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

.

I needed a good laugh - the bus fiasco is dire tourist are paying 3 times as much per week , the majority of bus stops don't have timetables for the correct routes now , buses simply don't turn up or go on whatever route the driver can be bothered about and there is complete and utter confusion and a lot of buses have reduced frequency including from sliema to the airport and to the hospital

Me, too Rob! First of all - walking to Sliema from St. Pauls Bay on a daily basis? I don't think so! I enjoy walking and do lots of it but 10km one way, wow!

The buses are a joke. They either a) don't come b) are too full or c) arrive too early presumably due to b) which saves time at some bus stops. Some numbers are completely missing from most stops whereas others shown don't go that route anymore. Bus timetables still missing or incorrect. There are four buses across the road from us and only 2 timetables displayed, one doesn't stop there anymore.

I have applied for a Tallinja card weeks ago and still nothing. My partner and I are both paying around €50 a month for transport each due to this! It's atrocious that you cannot buy a cheaper monthly pass and have to wait for this card to arrive (which might never happen).

I've been on buses where the driver simply changed the route and drove wherever he felt good. Luckily he could be bothered to stop in Naxxar. Some Maltese pointed it out and in the end they shouted at each other for 15 minutes (it was kind of amusing I have to say).

The biggest joke is MPT's website though. Some days it works, then on other it shows the worst connections and sometimes it displays the walking route only. Very useful - not!

Rant over

Welcome to Malta!

Ray

kateblank wrote:

You are incorrect. I use the buses 7 days a week, to get to work and to go other places around the island. All of the new timetables are up, and since December 20 (when the timetables and routes changed) only one of my buses has been late.

Also, that day we had the really hard rain, my bus broke down halfway to work, and a replacement bus was sent to pick us up in under 12 minutes.

People can complain about Arriva all they want, but this winter the buses are doing a very good job.

(And any tourist who bothers to do five minutes of reading can pay the same prices as a resident.)

your deluded .. it hasnt been arriva for at least two years ... the new company is a spanish company
and secondly none  of the new timetables are at bus stops ... im a frequent bus user and i have eyes and thats why they are receiving so many complaints ... you only have to read the times of malta to see that people are complaining !!

kateblank wrote:

I didn't say we still have Arriva; I said Arriva were complaint-worthy, but the new system is running just fine.

And we all know you cannot judge the quality of a thing by the people who write to local newspapers and websites. People love to complain about anything. I honestly don't take seriously the complaints about the Arriva era because of people's tendency to gripe; I wasn't here then, but I definitely take those stories with a grain of salt.

People complained about Arriva because they didn't know just how bad it could really get! 

I agree that not all comments on Times of Malta or MaltaToday should be taken seriously because some people complain that they have to walk a few hundred meters to the bus stop. However the vast majority of complaints are valid since many routes were scrapped or changed and the frequency has been reduced.

Consider yourself very lucky if you have more than 1 bus per hour that actually stops and doesn't just drive past full. For many others that's the reality