Councillors from the City of Edinburgh Council have agreed the agreement to operate the
\nEdinburgh Tram system with Lothian Buses as another piece of the jigsaw comes into place ahead of opening next year. As part of the agreement it has been revealed that the line may need a subsidy in the first few years before passenger numbers \u201cpick up\u201d sufficiently to cover costs \u2013 and it is this which the local newspaper and well know tram critics have picked up on.<\/p>\n
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At this stage it has not been revealed just how much subsidy the Council will give towards the trams but a figure of \u201cup to \u00a33.2 million\u201d has been quoted in the Edinburgh Evening News<\/em> although the Council have denied it will be this high. The amount will most likely come from the dividend the Council receive on an annual basis from Lothian Buses as a The operating agreement has also revealed that Lothian Buses will pay \u00a32.7 million per annum for the leasing of the trams but costs for the refurbishment of the vehicles and any losses incurred will be met by the Council.<\/p>\n Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener on the Council, said: \u201cWe anticipate tram passenger numbers will increase after the first two years as is often the case when new transport schemes are introduced. The council, as a major shareholder, receives an annual dividend from Lothian Buses and part of this will be available to support the trams in the first few years of operation.\u201d<\/p>\n But the news was not met with complete joy with staunch critic of the tram project, John Carson, having his say: \u201cThis is simply another unexpected and unacceptable debt to the city, with up to \u00a316m poured down the black hole instead of spent on front-line services. This is money out of the project budget, which would usually go to education, social care \u2013 statutory services.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Councillors from the City of Edinburgh Council have agreed the agreement to operate the Edinburgh Tram system with Lothian Buses as another piece of the jigsaw comes into place ahead of opening next year. As part of the agreement it … Continue reading
\nmajor shareholder, so in effect the money will be given to by Lothian Buses to the Council to give back to Lothian Buses! In recent years this amount has varied from \u00a32 million to \u00a33.2 million and the Council have stated they do not intend to put all of this money to the trams. Currently this dividend is used on a variety of projects in the City including, but not exclusively, transport.<\/p>\n