Reading Bus profits up by 142%

Reading Buses’ profits rose a whopping 142 per cent in 2005 despite fewer people using its services.

The Reading Borough Council-owned bus firm made a healthy £755,000 pre-tax profit last year, up from £312,000 in 2004, according to its annual report.

The figures are announced after many bus users were angered by an inflation-busting eight per cent increase in bus fares in October – the third rise in fares since 2004.

The hike in profits came in a year where the total number of bus users was down 1.9 per cent from the previous year – to just under 20 million journeys.

The company did improve its customer satisfaction levels slightly during the year, with the firm receiving 1,282 complaints, down from 1,336.

The firm’s managing director, Colin Thompson, played down the extent of profits, saying it needed to make more money to ensure a brighter future for bus travel in the town.

He said: “The bare statistics can be misleading because when you look at the actual turnover of more than £22 million, the profit is in fact very low.

“We aim to make a profit of around six per cent but in fact this year’s profit was only about three per cent, which was up from around 1.5 per cent in 2004.

“We are satisfied with the increase but aim to do better so we can invest in the services to make sure the future of the company is secure.”

Reading Buses, which runs most of the bus services in the town, is owned by the council but is run as an independent business in its own right.

The council received a £350,000 dividend share from the company’s profit.

Reading Buses’ annual report laid out the bus firm’s achievements in 2005, which included nearly £6 million capital investment – an increase of 761 per cent from the previous year.

It acquired 26 new buses with a further 31 to be added to the fleet this year to help with the launch of two new premier bus routes in April.

The firm’s workers benefited from a four per cent wage increase in April last year.

Chairman, Councillor Tony Jones, who took over the role from Tony Page in December, said: “2005 has represented a year of continuing change and progress for the company.

“The number of complaints is a matter of concern but it is one of the issues we are striving to improve throughout next year. The company has maintained its profitability in a challenging climate, with fuel costs remaining volatile, and on an inevitably increasing path.

“The company continues to strive to increase the number of customers we carry against a national back-drop of declining numbers.”

First printed in: Reading Evening Post



SOURCE getreading.co.uk Via GWR