The Department for Infrastructure warns that continued budget cuts will severely impact Translink NI's provision of public transport throughout Northern Ireland.Translink NI currently runs all of the main public transport routes throughout Northern Ireland, with hundreds of active bus routes, the Glider service in Belfast, and the NI rail network. The organisation's subsidy from the Department for Infrastructure was slashed in the 2015-2016 financial year as a result of a tight budget that year, and that funding was never restored.
The annual shortfall in Translink's budget is now placing its services at risk of failure as it's been forced to burn through reserves and make cuts wherever it can each year. Translink
actually reported a profit in 2018 thanks in part to cost-cutting initiatives and making more efficient use of its budget but also to getting a £12m in-year budgetary contribution.
If Translink doesn't get an in-year contribution this year, the DfI reports that "maintaining current levels of service which were dependent on in-year funding in 2018 - 19 will be unlikely." Warning has been given that the company's budget issues could become acute during 2019 and that it "could not sustain a deficit in 2020-21 as its reserves will have been significantly depleted."
The
DfI's annual financial report highlighting these issues signals significant problems ahead if budget problems aren't addressed soon. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has drafted a capital budget for 2019-2020 that will see a £31m reduction in the department's already reduced total allocation, and cuts will have to be made somewhere. The report states that "continued provision of public transport services, particularly maintenance of the railway infrastructure will be challenging."
Source: DfI report
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Brendan is a Sync NI writer with a special interest in the gaming sector, programming, emerging technology, and physics. To connect with Brendan, feel free to send him an email or follow him on Twitter.
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