Anyone who spent any length of time commuting to school or work on Malta’s quirky traditional buses (before the public transport overhaul in 2011) will be familiar with the old-school Maltese bus driver.
These guys were in a league of their own – kings of their vehicular castles who wouldn’t think twice about abandoning a busload of people for a quick pastizzi stop and known for their distinct call: ‘Move bekk plijs!’
One nostalgic local recently shared a tribute to this sadly extinct breed of bus driver on Facebook, featuring a (very) accurate depiction and an ode to the Maltese bus driver of old.
“YES I miss Maltese bus drivers...” begins the post by Darren Aquilina. “I miss seeing shirts in summer open to reveal chest hair, I miss seeing them smoking in the bus, YES I miss their erratic driving... BUT most of all I MISS seeing rosary beads hanging down and pictures of saints plastered to the windscreen and statues on the dash board...” – be still our beating hearts, we miss them too!
“I miss things like ‘Alla move back”, I miss seeing a mop under the seats...” he continues, adding that they’re memories he’ll never forget.
Now that’s brought on a whole lot of nostalgia. What about the tberfil signage proclaiming verbum dei caro factum est, the jazzed-up gear lever and the bus driver’s (always) filthy hands?
Those were the good old days…