The realities of coronavirus – which only over the past week have become entirely apparent – are stark. The scale of the change in demand that COVID-19 is wreaking on coach and bus operators alike is similarly unprecedented.
If a likely school closure programme comes about, what is already a crisis of biblical proportions will deepen further. What (if anything) contracted operators will be paid during that period is unpredictable. It could have a material impact on the future of some businesses.
Meanwhile, the collective impact of the potential closure of educational establishments, increased working from home and the likely isolation of many concessionary passholders will hit bus services and operators hard.
This living nightmare comes at a time when many businesses were pondering their compliance with Clean Air Zones, Scotland’s Low Emission Zones (LEZs) and London’s tightening LEZ.
Many are in the position of having to front significant sums to comply, even when grant funding is considered. That, combined with the extreme stress loading that COVID-19 has placed on many businesses, will leave some in an untenable situation.
In his Budget last week, Rishi Sunak said that SMEs would be eligible for several strands of a support package for businesses that are affected by COVID-19. It’s now nothing less than imperative that the industry makes its case for as much backing as possible.
Reported five-figure weekly losses by small- and medium-sized operators are unsustainable. If the government wants to see any semblance of an industry that can take citizens to school, university and work when COVID-19 has gone, it must act now.
