The strike against pension reform this winter and the epidemic due to the coronavirus caused the SNCF to lose “a little more than four billion euros ” , Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on Thursday at the microphone from franceinfo.
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Requested by AFP, the SNCF did not comment on these figures. " All the transport operators are in a phase where they have created a lot of losses ", with little revenue, he noted. No question however of increasing the prices according to him, " we do not catch up on customers ".
Discussions on the financial situation of transport operators will take place " once we will be able to make a solid, quantified assessment of the losses of SNCF, RATP and the State has said that it will be present " , he assured. " From the start of the school year we will probably have the capacity to draw up an almost objective assessment ," added Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.
Read also: The strike weighed on the results of the RATP in 2019
The elected officials in charge of public transport, gathered within the Grouping of the organizing transport authorities (Gart), ask that the State compensates for the 4 billion euros of loss of income due to the coronavirus, of which a good half in Ile-de- France. While the supply of transportation declined significantly during containment, ridership collapsed much more, which increased costs per passenger transported.
SNCF does not rule out job cuts. According to Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, “ There will be a discussion with the unions, not so much on job cuts but on the adjustment of recruitments, non-replacements. There is a duty to assess reality and the situation ”.
