London has its ‘New Routemaster’; could Malta also have its own heritage-inspired buses? Unfortunately we didn’t have space in CBW1459 to feature these images, courtesy of London-based design agency Mizzi Studio, alongside our feature on Malta’s new Vintage Bus City Tour. But having alluded to them in the feature, it seemed a shame to waste the opportunity to show them.
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Unveiled by then-Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg, the Malta Bus Reborn concept was designed by architect Jonathan Mizzi, who grew up in Malta, with the aim of designing an electric bus incorporating characteristics from traditional Maltese buses. Whilst undoubtedly a source of great nostalgia and much-missed, the replacement of Malta’s historic buses with a modern fleet led to a huge increase in ridership – up to 53.5 million passengers in 2018, almost twice the number as using the service in 2011, in line with the Maltese government’s environmental objectives, and the electric bus concept represents a vision for an even greener future.
Speaking at the 2019 unveiling of the concept, Maltese-born Jonathan said: “As a country we have such an incredible amount of built heritage. Our industrial heritage is just as important as our architectural heritage. The buses formed part of an infrastructural network that spanned our whole nation, they were the lifeline that fuelled our connectivity across every arterial road. They brought so much colour and joy to our roads as each colour denoted its own route. And this is why they were such a vibrant symbol of our Maltese craftmanship, loved not just by our people but also by our tourists.
“My studio and I have worked very hard over seven years to capture the essence of our diverse bus fleet into a singular design that unifies the most common genetic features of them all, fusing them with the functionality of the latest technology in transport. On behalf of my whole team at Mizzi Studio and all of our partners I would like to thank the Honourable Minister Ian Borg for endorsing our concept and look forward to seeing our country move forward in a manner that stays true to ourselves whilst holding hands in harmony with our environment.”
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