No Goldline losses'
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MS that Reading Borough Council's Goldline bus service to have been strongly denied by the on is making a massive loss I's transport chief.
uncillor Simon Coombs Tory MP Peter Fry (Wellingugh) had got his sums g and that in fact the serwas operating profitably, the surplus cash being 3hed back into other bus ces in the town.
Fry told the Commons dur.he Transport Bill's second ing last week that Reading sport's prestige service was ng the ratepayer between and £1,200 for every corn
r.
is odd that the ratepayers eading should be subsidiseach commuter by paying mous amounts of money le passengers are being away from British Rail," he
)wever Mr Coombs claimed the accuracy of Mr Fry's .es was in doubt, and he ed the MP to come and have )k for himself.
ks far as we are concerned Goldline service runs itably. It is not being subsi MILLION fewer passengers I Ireland's semi-state bus ices in the first half of this , compared with the same ad last year.
hile Coras lompair Eireann's Erased fares raised revenue m IRE3 0.6m (E24m) to 18.8m, the number of pas)er journeys on Dublin city, rincial, and Expressway sers fell from 118m to 107m. dised and it was only on that basis — given a run-in period — that the council was prepared to support it".
The service was carrying 1,000 passengers a day with only a handful of vehicles compared with British Rail which was carrying 21,000 people a day.
Mr Fry, however, stood by his claim. He said he had been leaked the figures drawn up by the Council itself, which showed an operating loss of £100,000 a year. These included the weekly cost of the service, receipts, total mileage and regular passengers. On top of that had to be added the capital cost of buying the buses which was another £200,000 a year.
The Council is thought to believe that Mr Fry has done his calculations on the basis of the old Reading to Southend service, which was started by the two councils in October 1980 after the deregulation of long distance services. The present Goldline service has been operating since May.