In recent weeks, Trondheim’s bus service has been unstable. Several have experienced extremely late buses in addition to canceled departures. Although around 97% of bus departures in Trondheim have run as normal in the last week, over 1,000 of them have been cancelled. With snowy weather and freezing temperatures, Beate Blom is one of those waiting for the bus in Prinsenkrysset. – I was ten minutes late for a dental appointment this week, I was barely able to get in, she says. Beate Blom has on several occasions waited for buses that were late or did not turn up at all. Photo: Morten Andersen / news – It was cold and sad to stand outside without knowing if you would get off guard at all. The bus chaos makes everyday life uncertain for those who depend on public transport. – Trondheim has put a lot of money into expanding the bus system, so it would be nice if it actually worked, she says. Important to collaborate with suppliers Harald Storrønning is director of offer development at AtB. – After the summer holidays, we had a number of canceled departures because the organizations are simply tired, he says. In recent weeks, the settings have escalated. On Thursday 15 December, 71 departures were cancelled. Harald Storrønning is director of offer development at AtB. Photo: Hannah Solberg-Wåtland / news – We have to resolve this through the responsible doctors and find solutions together with the operators. Only in this way can we get a long-term solution. He points out that they are working to spread the burden as much as possible, so that it is not the same lines that have several scheduled departures at the same time. – We want to deliver the best possible offer within what is possible, he says. – We have a good relationship with and a good dialogue with the suppliers, both Vy buss and Tide buss. We see that they also have a challenge. He explains that they need more employees in the future. – We have to recruit in the industry. During 2023, we will start a program together with them where we will go deeper into looking at what we can do together to get recruits for the driving profession. Taking the bus earlier in the morning Kristine Bø Andersen is a student and depends on public transport to get to school and around the city. – It’s hard to know when you’ll get off guard to go to school. The canceled and too late buses have meant that Andersen has been late for lectures several times. – Now I had an exam, and then I had to calculate to take a bus that leaves half an hour earlier than I usually do, she says. Kristine Bø Andersen likes to take an earlier bus than she needs, in case of cancellations. Photo: Morten Andersen / news I hope more people will choose the bus service in the future Øyvind Lund Børresen is the area manager of time bus Trondheim and points to several reasons for bus chaos in the city. – We have had extra challenges in the last few weeks since winter came, both with the maintenance of vegans and with illness among the drivers. Øyvind Lund Børresen is an area manager at Tide bus Trondheim. Photo: Morten Andersen / news High absenteeism among employees means that Børresen also hopes for more recruitment into the profession. – We need people. There is access in the Trondheim market, but it takes time to train good drivers. In order to attract applicants, they have initiated various measures. Tide works to deliver a better public transport service to the citizens of Trondheim. – It is very unfortunate that people can miss important appointments due to canceled buses. All of us who work at Tide go to work to transport people where they need to go on time. If we don’t manage to do that, I’m sorry.
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