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Public transportation companies are suffering from the crown crisis and need help from the state. PostBus, however, can handle the losses for 2020 on its own, thanks to record bookings.
Despite the drop in passenger numbers, public transport connections must be guaranteed to the most remote corners of the country. That makes PostBus believe. The effects of the pandemic are also new.
Urs Bloch, the PostBus media spokesperson, described a magnitude for the first time to Radio SRF: “We are currently assuming that we will have a profit loss of around 50 million francs last year due to the corona pandemic.”
No state aid for Postbus due to reservations
In fact, parliament produced an aid package to support public transport in the crown crisis. But PostBus will likely not rely on this state aid for 2020, according to spokesman Bloch.
The reason: Postbus entered the crisis with a full reserve tank, so to speak. “Our reserves are large enough to have to cover this loss with these reserves,” continues Bloch. PostBus has covered 50 million francs in the past 20 years, almost as much as the crown-related loss of revenue in 2020.
The great reserve could well arouse suspicion after the Postbus affair, but the amount is known to the federal government and is in order, explains the Federal Office of Transportation on request.
Now PostBus has to use the savings to reduce the corona deficit. This is what the federal package of aid to public transport stipulates. After that, the PostBus reserve tank is empty. Therefore, by 2021, PostBus will be dependent on the state’s public transportation aid package, according to the PostBus spokesperson.
Provisions on federal railroads in the red
The situation at the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) is different: at the end of 2019, its reserves were in the red, as the latest available trade figures show.
In addition, Corona caused a 1.5 billion franc drop in sales last year, SBB said. SBB intends to present detailed information on the financial effects of the crown crisis at its annual press conference in March.
Reservations are also lacking with some regional railways
In the BLS, for example, bookings are below zero, the Bern-based transport company writes on request. Consequently, in the current partial closure of leftist parties, calls for increased assistance to public transport are strong.
The Transportation Commission of the National Council promoted the first aid package. As Chairman of the Transport Commission, Michael Töngi (National Councilor for Greens) says: “We have once again seen a sharp decline in commuters and generally fewer passengers on public transport. So I think a second package will be needed by 2021. “
The situation will be able to be evaluated in a little more detail in a few weeks when the transport companies publish their annual figures.
