Citylink has funds to get through crisis

Coach operator Scottish Citylink has insisted it can get through the Covid19 crisis, saying its cash balances are “sufficient” to withstand the impact.

The company, which is jointly owned by international transport group Comfortdelgro and Perthbased Stagecoach Group, gave the reassurances over its future in its latest annual accounts.

Signing off the figures on July 17, following several months of lockdown and amid continuing uncertainty over the long-term impact of Covid-19 on public transport in the UK, bosses at Scottish Citylink said action to cut costs and ongoing government support for the sector was mitigating lost revenue this year.

They added: “Management are further assured of the company’s role as (part of) a key strategic industry, and further accompanying support that will be crucial during the period of economic recovery for the country.”

The crisis will still have a negative impact on the company’s financial performance this year, Scottish Citylink said.

But the social and economic consequences of Brexit are not expected to have a “material impact” on results for 2020, it added.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of public cash have been pumped into supporting UK public transport networks during the Covid-19 crisis, partly to make sure key workers have been able to get to their jobs.

Support measures for the sector have helped firms keep buses running despite a massive plunge in passenger numbers in the early part of lockdown.

Scottish Citylink was formed in 1985 through a reorganisation of the Scottish Bus Group.

A Citylink bus.