Rotala passenger numbers fall in lockdown

The Tividale-based business, which includes Diamond Bus in the West Midlands, says the start of the lockdown in England on November 5 has reduced numbers to about 45 per cent of pre-coronavirus levels.

Passenger numbers had risen steadily throughout the summer months and reached a peak of approximately 60 per cent of the levels seen in the same period last year.

To match these increases, bus service frequencies, supported by the Government grants were returned to pre-Covid-19 levels.

Government support, contains a ratchet mechanism which ensures that, as passenger numbers decline, grant support increases, maintaining the no profit/no loss position for the bus operator.

Since mid-March, Rotala has concentrated on aligning bus services with local requirements, reducing the costs of operation where possible and conserving cash.

The company has not needed to take up any of the options available under the various Government-supported loan schemes and does not currently foresee any requirement to do so.

At Heathrow Airport, the opportunity has been taken not to renew the lease of a depot near Hatton Cross station, which expired in October nd to concentrate operations at the airport at the cmpany's other depot on the south side of the airport perimeter road. This decision will result in annual savings of approximately £400,000.

Rotala has operated a small number of coaches, but in the current operating climate there has been little demand for the vehicles. As the operating leases for these vehicles have come to an end, they have not been replaced.

Simon Dunn, chief executive of Rotala, said: "For the foreseeable future, we will continue to work closely with the Department for Transport and relevant local authorities and be in receipt of the various elements of Government support in the form of the grants and subsidies set out above.

"In the longer term, the board believes that the pre-existing drivers of change in the bus industry will have been further strengthened by the impact of Covid-19. Therefore, we continue to believe that opportunities for growth, both organic and by acquisition, will arise once the crisis has passed.

"The group's service delivery and reliability levels have improved throughout the crisis and our increased investment in systems infrastructure has continued to produce discernible benefits. The board is therefore confident that operationally the group is in good shape, well able to meet the challenges and capture the opportunities that lie beyond the end of the Covid-19 crisis."