Ticket revenue has decreased due to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, it is also more difficult to estimate expected passenger numbers for the rest of the year. Our customers started to gradually return to using public transport in the summer but in the autumn, the passenger numbers have started to fall again.
The interim report estimates that our operating income for the whole year will be just under EUR 675 million which is almost 11% below the budget. Operating expenses are not expected to exceed EUR 717 million which would mean that the expenses would be 5.5% below the budget.
The largest part of the operating costs consists of operating compensation that we pay to the operators, and these costs are expected to fall below the budget by almost EUR 37 million. Among other things, savings are incurred from having adjusted the service supply. The costs of bus services have also decreased due to lower than expected fuel prices.
We have a surplus from previous years which we will spend to cover the deficit. The state has granted us a support package of around EUR 57 million for this year's revenue losses which is sufficient to cover a little under half of the cash deficit that will accumulate by the end of the year.
"The survival of public transport requires long-term recovery efforts from the state during the years of crisis, as it will take a long time to get back to the same passenger numbers and revenue as in 2019," says HSL Executive Director Suvi Rihtniemi.