Dublin's Aircoach loses €321,440

The privately owned airport bus service, Aircoach, lost €321,440 in 2000-01, according to its latest abridged accounts. The deficit came after a mixed year for the company, which runs the first independent bus service in Dublin.

While the figures reflected losses on a discontinued service between the IFSC and Dublin Airport, the original service from Ballsbridge moved into profit.

The service lost €505,761 in the first year after its introduction in 1999. Aircoach's managing director, Mr John O'Sullivan, said the Ballsbridge route made about €127,000 in the year to last July.

While Mr O'Sullivan said the company remained confident that the Ballsbridge service would remain in profit, it had increased its standard single fare to €6 from €5 due to a 150 per cent increase in the company's insurance cost.

The IFSC route, introduced in November 2000, was closed a year later when the firm concluded there was no hope of increasing ticket sales during the aviation slump that followed the attacks on the US in September. The service lost about €635,000 in 12 months.

The firm had debtors of €664,617 and creditors of €1.22 million at the end of the year. Thus it had net liabilities of €537,641, up from €232,145 a year earlier. The financial performance last year was diminished by the expenditure of about €127,000 on an unsuccessful attempt to operate the Luas light rail service in Dublin.

Mr O'Sullivan said the company had signed a contract with Aer Rianta last week to provide a service to the car parks at Dublin Airport until 2007. The contract is believed to be worth about €13 million.

Other services - to the airport from the west and south city - could not be introduced due to uncertainty about the new Government's transport policy.

Mr O'Sullivan said: "We would like some clarity from the Government on their commitment to a new Department of Transport and open competition, in particular to a level playing field between independent and State companies in respect of the CIÉ subvention, the provision of buses free of charge under the National Development Plan and the unfair advantage on insurance."

He added: "The business is being strangled by a totally outrageous and unjustified 150 per cent increase in insurance costs and the limited ability to seek cover from a broader market. Rising insurance costs will force public transport operators out of the business similar to what is being seen in the road haulage business."

The accounts lodged this week at the Companies Office were qualified because auditor Costello McElroy said there had been no satisfactory audit procedures to confirm cash sales. Mr O'Sullivan said the company was using additional reconciliation sheets to provide better documentation.