SF minister under fire over cuts to bus and rail services - but critics avoid calling for an end to £20m fare freeze
Translink plans to cut bus and rail services due to a funding shortfall have been caused by “years of underfunding” by the Sinn Fein infrastructure minister and her department, a UUP MLA has said.
John Stewart has accused Liz Kimmins of “failing to prioritise public transport”, after the outgoing Translink chief Chris Conway set out plans to cut services cut and reduce concessionary fares.
The minister has also faced criticism from the DUP over the situation – but neither party has called for an end to a freeze on ticket prices announced by Minister Kimmins earlier this year.
In April, she announced that fares on busses and trains would be frozen for the second year in a row – “despite significant financial pressures across the public transport system”.
Mr Conway said five fair freezes by successive ministers over almost a decade had cost Translink “over £20m of revenue”.
The Department for Infrastructure says it is focused on protecting access to public transport “in the context of ongoing cost of living pressures, rather than profits”.
However, Mr Conway told a Stormont scrutiny committee this week that Translink has made a loss of £23m in the last financial year, and has been trying to maintain the network through cost efficiencies.
John Stewart, the UUP representative on the infrastructure committee, described the situation as “deeply concerning”.
“These are not choices Translink wants to make. They are cuts being forced on the organisation by successive years of underfunding from the Infrastructure Minister, Liz Kimmins, and her Department. That is totally unacceptable”, he said.
The East Antrim MLA said the “scale of the financial deterioration is stark: Translink’s cash reserves have collapsed from £60 million in 2022 to just £10 million this year. That has happened on the Minister’s watch and is a direct consequence of sustained underfunding”.
Mr Stewart criticised the minister for blaming underfunding from the British Government, when the Executive had received its highest ever resource and capital budget last year.
“The Minister must get a grip, work urgently with Translink to secure the funding needed to protect services, and ensure Northern Ireland has the fully funded public transport network communities deserve”, he said.
DUP infrastructure spokesperson Peter Martin said that behind the ministers “warm words” her actions have resulted in Translink considering cuts, whilst her department “has received its largest ever funding allocation both in terms of capital and revenue”.
“The Minister needs to accept that her decisions have consequences and outline actions to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. It will be far too late when her party colleagues are launching campaigns to save public transport routes that face the axe because of their own Minister’s actions”, he said.
A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said: “There is no agreed budget, and the Department continues to work closely with Translink in this interim period.
“As Translink is a publicly owned service provider, the Department’s priority is to support passengers and protect access to public transport, particularly in the context of ongoing cost of living pressures, rather than profits.
“It is the Minister’s firm position that public transport must be affordable for people, and that is the only way to sustain a growth in passenger numbers.”