NI public transport calls for £50m in Covid funding

Northern Ireland's public transport system will need an extra £50m in 2021-22 to mitigate the effects of Covid-19, officials have been told.

A briefing to senior civil servants at the Department for Infrastructure heard "significant funding" was required.

They were told passenger levels in November 2020 were under 40% of those seen a year earlier.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon described Translink's financial position as "difficult".

Translink told BBC News NI that its 2021-22 budget had not yet been finalised.

It said it had carried about 30% of its pre-pandemic passenger numbers in the past year.

Ms Mallon said Translink was on target to deliver more than £20m worth of savings in the 2020-21 financial year, which will continue into the coming year.

"These efforts allow Translink to begin the current financial year on a stable financial footing," Ms Mallon told BBC News NI.

"However, it is likely that we will continue to see reduced revenue as a result of lower than normal passenger numbers in the year ahead and as a result, Translink's financial position will be difficult.

"Current indications of the scale of the impact on our public transport provider, which are based on passenger journey information, is significant with early estimates set at £50m."

Minutes of the briefing presented to officials in January, which have just recently been published, noted that "significant funding would be required" for public transport services in the 2020-21 financial year, and potentially beyond, due to the impact of Covid-19.

It said following additional government cash funding, Translink had the required level of working capital to meet its daily needs.

But it added that the latest estimates from the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHC), the corporate arm of Translink, "suggest that they will require an estimated £50m additional funding in 2021-22 to mitigate the effects of the pandemic".

Translink's latest accounts show that in the year to the end of March 2020, the loss before tax and accounting adjustments totalled £23.2m, against a budgeted loss of £15.7m.

It said this was due primarily to reduced in-year government funding and a major fall in passenger numbers and revenue in March 2020 due to the coronavirus lockdown.

"In common with all public transport providers in Britain and Ireland, Translink will need funding to maintain services and network coverage as we build back from the impact of Covid," said a Translink statement.