Bus Éireann reports €9.2m loss on back of 2020 Covid restrictions

Bus Éireann is back in the red after reporting losses of €9.2 million last year which it blamed on the adverse impact of Covid-19-related restrictions on travel.

The State-owned bus company, which had reported its first profit in five years in 2019 with a surplus of €2.3 million, said its financial position last year had reversed due to public health restrictions and the steep fall in demand for travel.

The company’s latest accounts show overall revenue in 2020 dropped 22 per cent to €284.8 million from €366.5 million the previous year

Bus Éireann said it delivered 91 per cent of planned services on Expressway routes last year despite Covid-19 restrictions, which had resulted in the company suffering significant losses.

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The company said it had implemented a viability plan last September which has resulted in a planned consolidation of Expressway routes from 18 to 14 as it ceased services to Cork, Galway, Limerick and Belfast from Dublin.

Overall Bus Éireann said passenger journeys on more than 230 Expressway and PSO (public service obligation) routes were down 42 per cent from 89.4 million in 2019 to 51.7 million last year due to the impact of the pandemic.

Bus Éireann chief executive Stephen Kent said the vast majority of losses were incurred in its commercial services which were not in receipt of State subvention or government supports in the period to July 2020.

Profits on PSO routes including city bus services in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, were up from €0.9 million in 2019 to €1.9 million last year as State subventions rose by 53 per cent to €93.8 million to counteract a 49 per cent reduction in passenger numbers.

Bus Éireann also received €18.7 million in Covid-19-related Government supports.

Mr Kent said he expected Expressway would return to profitability after the Covid-19 crisis as annual travel patterns begin to return to normal levels.

“There will be a continued investment in new fleet and technology, reflecting Bus Éireann’s long-term commitment to a sustainable and profitable future for Expressway and our desire to provide a best-in-class customer experience,” said Mr Kent.

‘A year like no other’

Bus Éireann chairman Aidan Murphy said 2020 was “a year like no other” after the company had reported its highest passenger growth in over a decade the previous year.

Mr Murphy observed that the pandemic had “triggered the prospect of an existential crisis without emergency funding and support”.

He said Bus Éireann had successfully delivered safe essential services when they were most needed through its swift and decisive action in implementing a wide range of new policies.

Mr Murphy noted revenue had collapsed by over 90 per cent within a week of the first lockdown, while services and revenue had generally been down in the range 50-90 per cent across all routes.

Despite the turndown, Mr Murphy said Bus Éireann had provided a significant enhancement to services in a number of towns and cities last year including Ballina, Cork, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan and Limerick due to funding provided by the National Transport Authority.

Mr Murphy said the decision to withdraw four Expressway services was taken to avoid unsustainable future losses and protect services for the remaining 150 communities served by the Expressway network.