Bus subsidy up by £300,000 despite record passengers
MORE than £1.1m. was collected in revenue from last year's record-setting number of bus passengers, but the subsidy the States paid to CT Plus went up by more than £300,000.
Contract payments totalling £4,714,465 were made to operator CT Plus in 2016, with a net subsidy of £3,690,499 reported by Traffic and Highway Services director Karl Guille.
A total of 1,653,728 people travelled on scheduled bus services last year, with a £2.23 subsidy per passenger – an identical figure to 2015.
Mr Guille said around three-quarters of the total revenue had come from regular cash fares.
'Income during the calendar year 2016 totalled £1,103,725,' he said. 'Of this sum £789,911 related to £1 cash fares, £34,632 from £2 Night Bus fares, both cash and Pay As You Go product, and the remaining £279,182 was collected from the sale of various Smart Card products, including PAYG, visitor passes, and other unlimited travel passes.'
And while both the CT Plus contract and the retained income were higher than in 2015, this was attributed to the date that the current operating arrangements with the company took effect.
'The contract payment to CT Plus in 2015 totalled £4,294,000,' said Mr Guille. 'Before April 2015 fare income was retained by the operator, but since the new contract commenced in April 2015, fare income has been passed to the States.
'Between April and December 2015 the States received £935,000 in fare income from CT Plus.
Accordingly, the actual "subsidy" paid to the operator for providing scheduled and integrated school bus services in 2015 was £3,359,000.
'In 2016, contract payments totalled £4,714,465 and fare income was £1,103,725, the higher sums reflecting a full 12 months of the new contract form. Accordingly, the actual "subsidy" paid in 2016 was £3,690,499.'
