VIA Rail Canada Ridership Down 82% in Third Quarter of 2020; Revenues Drop 86%
November 30, 2020 ctn_admin
Like others in the transportation industry, VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) continues to be severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting a significant decrease in ridership and passenger revenues compared to the same period last year. During this year’s third quarter, VIA Rail recorded an 86% drop in passenger revenues as well as a decrease of 82% in ridership compared to the same quarter last year.
The safe way to travel
VIA Rail follows the guidance and recommendations of public health authorities in order to support the national effort against the pandemic. Preventive measures implemented in response to COVID-19 to protect the health and safety of passengers and employees include, amongst others, enhanced cleaning, pre-boarding screening of passengers, modified onboard services as well as the mandatory wearing of masks in stations and on board trains at all times.
“We understand that travelling during the pandemic can be challenging. I would like to reiterate that the VIA Rail team has been hard at work to ensure that we continue to offer our passengers a safe, comfortable and enjoyable travel experience,” said Cynthia Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “That is why we have deployed a strict protocol of sanitary measures on board our trains, in our stations, maintenance centres and call centres so that our customers can travel with confidence. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our passengers for their continued trust in our service.”
Adapting our operations in response to the pandemic
The Corporation continues to adjust its operations according to the evolution of the pandemic. To better reflect the lower market demand, VIA Rail reduced its available capacity for the services in operation.
“As the national passenger rail service, we have a responsibility to continue to provide our public service, despite the circumstances, while safeguarding the travel experience. We are very much aware that transportation is more limited in some provinces and we remain focused on relaunching services in Eastern and Western Canada,” said Garneau.
VIA Rail remains committed to serving communities across Canada and announced in October the gradual return to service in Western Canada by providing intercity transportation exclusively between Vancouver and Winnipeg as of December 11.
Managing the financial impacts of the pandemic
“As the pandemic has brought various challenges and forced VIA Rail to reduce its operations, a series of measures have been implemented in response to the crisis and to responsibly manage the funds allocated by the Government of Canada. We have had to make tough decisions over the past few months, and we recognize that these are difficult times for our employees, but our objective remains to reintegrate them as soon as customer demand allows it,” said Patricia Jasmin, Chief Financial Officer.
During the third quarter, total operating expenses decreased by 27.5%. Measures to manage the financial impacts of the pandemic include, amongst others:
- The reduction of certain of its operating expenses in proportion to the level of operations,
- Temporary layoffs of unionized, management and professional employees,
- Reduction of publicity and advertising activities,
- Reduction of services in stations,
- Reduction of administrative costs and the postponement of non-essential initiatives.
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