diff --git a/bin/install-wp-tests.sh b/bin/install-wp-tests.sh
index 3c22d56..f4b3954 100755
--- a/bin/install-wp-tests.sh
+++ b/bin/install-wp-tests.sh
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ cremysqladminate_db() {
 install_db() {
 	# the mariadb commands are not available on some self-hosted runner images
 	apt update && apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client -y
-	systemctl start mariadb
+	service mariadb start
 
 	if [ ${SKIP_DB_CREATE} = "true" ]; then
 		return 0