State transport firms’ financial woes increase
State transport companies recorded a decline in revenues and an increase in losses last year, according to official figures.
Revenues fell 1.8 percent from 2016 to 289.3 million euros, with the 84-million-euro increase in state subsidies failing to plug the gap.
For every euro the transport companies earned as operating revenues last year, they got another from taxpayers.
In total, state subsidies for transport rose a considerable 43.5 percent from 2016 to 285 million euros.
The majority of that (190 million euros) concerned the Athens Urban Transport Organization’s (OASA) public transport companies OSY and STASY, while the remaining 95 million went to railway companies OSE and Trainose.
In 2016 state subsidies had come to 201 million euros. In September 2017 Trainose was sold to Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, but this did not mean the railway firms turned profitable.
On the contrary, losses increased due to the decision to write off Trianose’s debts to former parent company OSE, amounting to some 692 million euros.
