The corona crisis has a major impact on public transport. Passenger numbers have fallen sharply and public transport companies incur additional costs because the equipment, stations and stops had to be adapted. Public transport is a vital sector, which has kept the Netherlands running in recent months and is indispensable for many people. That is why the government will release around 1.5 billion euros until the end of 2020 to ensure that the public transport can continue to drive and that people can travel safely.
The availability allowance is intended for all public transport under a concession in the Netherlands and runs from 1 March to the end of this year. It has been agreed that the decentralized authorities and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science will continue to pay the contributions from the current concession agreements and the OV student card. With the availability allowance from central government, the cost coverage for public transport amounts to 93%. Public transport companies that can demonstrate that there is no other economic option than to scale down the timetable to guarantee continuity are compensated up to a maximum of 95%. As with other corona plans, conditions also apply: carriers do not pay dividends and no bonuses or severance payments are made to drivers.
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NAZALI TAX & LEGAL |