Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport operator, has said it is losing about £13m a year running rural bus services, the BBC reported. The operator said the services will be cut if a solution is not found.
A spokesperson for the state-owned operator commented: “Translink has maintained the public transport network without the sufficient subsidy required to operate unprofitable but socially necessary services.
“The subsidy required to run these services is around £13m per year.
“Since 2014-15, Translink has drawn on its own reserves, however, this is no longer sustainable going forward.”
The spokesperson said Translink would continue to deliver the existing level of services and any changes would require public consultation.
The Department for Infrastructure said: “The current position is that Translink will continue to deliver the existing range of services.
“The budgetary outlook briefing paper published by the Department of Finance last month outlines a number of future budget scenarios, and explains that the funding will not be available for Translink to deliver the full range of services from 2019/20.”
