News item | 14-04-2022 | 15:15
Public transport companies can count on compensation from the government throughout 2022 to absorb the consequences of the corona crisis. That is what the cabinet has decided. The compensation had already been promised until September of this year, but will now be extended until the end of the year.
Prognosis
The number of travelers using public transport is steadily increasing now that the travel restrictions and the mask requirement have been lifted, but has not yet returned to the level of 2019. The Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy (KiM) expects the number of travelers to reach an average of 88 in 2022. % compared to 2019.
State Secretary Heijnen of Infrastructure and Water Management: “We will also desperately need public transport in the future. Public transport ensures that villages and towns are accessible to everyone in a sustainable way. During the corona crisis, the public transport companies contributed to keeping our country moving. People in vital professions, such as nurses, teachers and police officers, were able to get to work because public transport has continued to operate. Now that the corona restrictions have been lifted, we see that more and more travelers are able to find public transport again. With this decision, there is certainty for travelers and carriers that the public transport offer can remain at the same level throughout the year.”
Public transport of great importance
When the corona pandemic broke out in 2020, passenger numbers on public transport fell rapidly, resulting in a drastic drop in revenues for public transport companies. Because large groups of people depend on public transport for their mobility, the government asked transport companies to continue to use their regular timetable as much as possible. The carriers receive an availability fee from the government for this.
Travelers return
Thanks to this arrangement, public transport companies are largely reimbursed for their costs and the fine-meshed public transport network is preserved for the traveler. The scheme ‘breathes along’ with passenger income. This means that the transport companies receive a higher compensation if fewer people use public transport and a lower reimbursement if more people use public transport.
In 2020, carriers received €1.2 billion in compensation and €1.4 billion in 2021. Because travelers are now increasingly opting for public transport, it is expected that approximately € 140 million will be needed this year to reimburse the costs of public transport companies. In addition, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, together with the sector, is looking at actions to win travelers back to public transport.
KiM predicts that in 2023 the number of travelers in public transport will be 97% of the number in 2019. A new forecast from KiM is expected in June.