Bus subsidies

IN the Money & Jobs Travel feature (Irish Examiner, January 23) Cora Collins of the Coach Tourism And Transport Council suggests that Bus Éireann’s “Cork route is subsidising the Galway run” ... “or that the Government subvention is going to subvent the Galway-Dublin route”.

Neither of these statements is true. The Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Galway routes are profitable in their own right. None of the Government subvention goes to the profitable Expressway sector of Bus Éireann. The subvention goes only to the city, commuter and rural routes which, although loss-making, we are obliged by the State to run because they are deemed socially necessary.

In fact, the subvention is not enough to cover the loss on the social routes and the profit on Expressway is used to cross-subsidise these essential services.

In 2002, the amount of the cross-subsidy from Expressway to the social routes was €4.7 million (Bus Éireann annual report, page 2).

Cyril McIntyre,

Manager Media & Public Relations,

Bus Éireann,

Broadstone,

Dublin 7.