A third round of financial support for private coach and bus operators in Northern Ireland has opened after it was allocated £4m by the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Bus Operator Financial Assistance Scheme 2022 captures eligible businesses that have experienced a decrease in turnover of at least 40% between 1 April 2021 and 31 January when compared to the same period in either 2018/19 or 2019/20, and which did not record a profit during the 10 months of 2021/22 in question.
Payments will again be made on a fleet size basis, this time of up to £13,350 for the first vehicle and up to £7,400 per additional fleet member, although those sums will be subject to adjustment so as not to exceed the actual financial loss experienced by the business concerned. Monies received from earlier rounds of the support package are not included in calculations for the latest tranche of backing.
Maximum per-vehicle sums on offer in the third round of the scheme are significantly higher than those paid previously, although the earlier tranches were each based on losses incurred over six-months periods. The maximum payment broken down to a per-month, per-vehicle sum thus remains broadly the same as before.
In the first run of the scheme, which covered the period between April and September 2020, 106 operators received a total of £2.9m. The second round, covering October 2020 to March 2021, saw £2.8m awarded to 98 eligible businesses.
Operators applying for the latest tranche of financial support must again provide independent verification by an accountant of their submission. In earlier rounds that generated criticism because of the costs incurred in doing so, but Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon defended it in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 31 March 2021, saying that such verification is required “to protect value for money.”
In announcing the third tranche of support for private coach and bus operators in Northern Ireland, Ms Mallon says: “I have examined all the evidence presented to me and I have concluded that for some within this sector there is a need for further intervention, which is why I am launching a third financial support scheme.
“While providing business support is not within the [Department for Infrastructure’s] remit, I have stepped in to provide essential help for those struggling at what has been an exceptionally difficult and worrying time. I hope the worst of the pandemic is behind us and that those in the coach and bus sector, and indeed all of us, can begin to move forward with hope as we look towards recovery.”
Applications to the third round of the fund are open until 3 March. A guidance document has been published here.
