EDINBURGH: LOWER RIDERSHIP FIGURES WILL REQUIRE CITY SUBSIDY

摘要

Edinburgh's new tram system is unlikely to generate sufficient income to cover costs in its first five years of operation with the city council needing to allocate up to GBP3.2m (approx. EUR3.7m) per annum to cover initial start-up costs and operational losses, according to a report in The Scotsman. The funding is likely to be balanced, at least in part, by the dividend paid to the council by arms-length company Lothian Buses, also responsible for operation of the tramway through an operating agreement signed at the end of January. Passenger numbers are now expected to be significantly lower in the first two years, before rising to previous estimates of about nine million a year.