“I spent June 2011 taking photos of [Malta’s old] buses during their last month on the road. Today, 5th November 2024, I’m holding for the first time the book that is a product of this project,” David Schembri shared on social media, following the release of Wait until the Bus Stops, a photo book published by Kotba Calleja.
For many, the contents of David’s book will hit home – whether through the resurfacing of childhood memories spent travelling by bus, or as a former driver and bus owner. Within its pages, the many facets of Malta’s iconic yellow buses are captured in a photojournalistic style, from the deteriorating state of the bus, to the personalised driver cabin featuring religious icons and dangling air fresheners.
In an interview with Times of Malta, where David worked as a journalist, he shares how during his time reporting the 2011 public transport reform prior to the introduction of the new Arriva buses, “it began to dawn on me that there was no plan to preserve the character of these buses. What we had known for all our lives was going to be lost, and I wanted to preserve the beauty I saw in it.”
What followed was a month-long project spent capturing every detail of life on board a bus, including the people who owned and drove them.
By the end of it, he had amassed around 5,000 photos, a number of which made it into his book 13 years later, which serves as “a timely reminder not to take what makes our country special for granted.”
Photography: David Schembri
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