CIE has said it wants to increase bus and rail fares by up to 20%. The company's annual report for 2001 shows that the company sustained a net loss of almost €8m - despite receiving over €245m in Government assistance.
Transport Minister Seamus Brennan told RTE radio he was not interested in discussing fare increases without serious discussion of where the company was going.
He said change was inevitable, and that liberalisation of the market was on the agenda for discussions. He said a competitive atmosphere was important.
CIE recorded a deficit of €7.8m for 2001, compared with a surplus of €21.9m in 2000. The company said the deficit was due to increased bus and rail services and higher wage costs.
The Government's support for public transport increased by €41m last year to €245m, but CIE said that figure was small considering its role as the solution to traffic gridlock, which costs the Irish economy €1.2 billion each year.
Over 318 million people travelled with CIE last year. The company said this was the highest public transport usage for over 25 years.
Passenger numbers at Iarnrod Eireann rose 7.9% to 34.2 million, while the figure for Dublin Bus was up 3.6% to 196.8 million. Dublin Bus recorded a surplus of €1.1m last year, down from €9m in 2000.
Bus Eireann showed a €4.4m deficit, following a €6.1m surplus in 2000, despite a rise in passenger numbers to 87.4 million. CIE says the loss was due to the cost of providing additional services.
CIE Tours International achieved a net profit of €1m on revenue of €55.5m in what the company described as 'a most difficult year'. The property division posted a profit of €5.3m.
CIE said the average staff number during the year was 12,141, an increase of 718 on 2000. The introduction of the euro cost the company €2.7m, of which €2.2m was included in the 2001 figures.
