GLASGOW’S subway operator has warned it may be forced to drastically reduce services without urgent government aid as it battles passenger losses of up to £20million.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) said repeated calls for help from Transport Scotland since March had been ignored, while private bus and rail providers had been bailed out and the London Underground had received assistance.
Although SPT operates bus services in an around Greater Glasgow, most of its revenue is drawn from the underground, which suffered a 97% drop in passenger numbers in the first four weeks of lockdown, in common with other transport providers.
Councillor Martin Bartos, chairman of SPT, said after crisis talks held yesterday to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on the network: “As yet no response has been received the the Scottish Government.”
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SPT warns that without intervention it could be forced to ‘significantly reduce’ services including the Subway, rural bus routes and dial-a-bus networks in areas including Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire and Ayrshire.
The government’s furlough scheme generally does not apply to public sector sector bodies which are funded from a Government grant and use public funds to pay staff salaries.
The transport authority said the levels of staff affected either by self-isolating or shielding had also meant that it would not have been to operate a daily service for key workers with a reduction in staff.
Board papers warn that without urgent intervention, a £7million reserve will be reduced to “nil” placing a continuing programme of modernisation at risk as well as threatening bus and Subway services.
Councillor Dr Martin Bartos, chairman of SPT, said: “SPT will consider all the options to determine the best way forward.
“We are very aware of the importance of supported bus services and the impact that any reduction on services could have on many of our more isolated communities.
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“This is a key part of what we do and we need to be able to continue this necessary work to try and ensure that the most vulnerable members of our society are not left isolated.”
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: “We appreciate the important role which the subway and trams play in our two biggest cities and have undertaken detailed discussions with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Edinburgh Trams to understand the implications of Covid-19.
“We are currently exploring what appropriate support may be available in the context of the very challenging financial situation, our published “COVID-19: Framework for Decision Making” and the Transport Transition Plan.’
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