The case in summary: The buses in Lofoten and Vesterålen have driven the equivalent of 18 laps around the world without passengers. Many people depend on the bus to get to work, school or the doctor, but approximately every fifth bus in the area has to refuse passengers. Mayoral candidate in Sortland, Grete Ellingsen, is shocked by the situation and has received many complaints from residents. Boreal, which won the tender for buses in Lofoten and Vesterålen, emphasizes that they operate on behalf of Nordland County Council and must adhere to the route layout contained in the contract. County director for transport and infrastructure in Nordland county municipality, Odd Inge Bardal, says it would entail large additional costs to set up more routes. Nordland County Council is also responsible for statutory school driving, which results in a lot of empty driving. Bardal says that over time it will be phased over to more and more zero-emission technology. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. There are great distances in Nordland. For many, the bus is the only way to get to work, school or the doctor. But in Vesterålen, several people have noticed that many buses run empty, without passengers. Approximately one in five buses in the area has to refuse passengers to join, figures from the bus company show. Mayoral candidate in Sortland, Grete Ellingsen (H), says she has received a lot of feedback from both young and old in the district. – They are annoyed because they feel that of the few buses that run, there are several that drive straight past them. Alice Pedersen finds it impractical to take the bus in Lofoten and Vesterålen. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news The buses take passengers one way, but on the return journey the passengers are not allowed to sit on them. – I can’t afford a certificate, so the only way for me to get to the shop or the doctor is by taking the bus, says Alice Pedersen to news. – In some cases I have to be in town all day. Nordland county council explains the situation by saying that it will cost too much to let passengers go. It costs more to drive the bus with passengers than without. – Shocking to say the least, Ellingsen explains that she herself began to notice buses marked with “Not in traffic”. She finally contacted Nordland County Council to look at the agreement between them and Boreal. Grete Ellingsen has previously been mayor of Sortland. Now she is reacting to the fact that buses are driven for many kilometers without passengers. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news – I saw that the operator is obliged to report how many empty bus kilometers are driven in Vesterålen and Lofoten, says the Conservative politician who finally got to see last year’s report. – The numbers I received were shocking to say the least. It is stated that 715,000 kilometers are driven with empty buses. news has been given access to the report. It confirms what Ellingsen tells. The mayoral candidate says she is disappointed and sorry. – This was a terribly sad discovery. And that means that until 2030 we are bound to see a lot of empty diesel buses in our beautiful region. Are you satisfied with the bus service where you live? Yes No Don’t care, don’t take the bus. Show result Must comply with the contract Boreal won the tender for buses in Lofoten and Vesterålen, and will operate until 2030. Communication manager at Boreal, Jon Kristian Fadnes, specifies that they operate on behalf of Nordland County Council. – We have to deal with the route layout in the contract. In addition to this, we continuously work to plan the position driving between the routes in a way that results in the fewest possible kilometers with empty buses. Jon Kristian Fadnes in Boreal. Photo: Boreal Fadnes emphasizes that it is important both in terms of sustainability goals and financial considerations to drive as little extra as possible. What the route offer looks like, he says, is a matter of social policy. – We must refer to the county council to answer that. A lot of driving related to students Boreal therefore relates to the routes. Isn’t it just to get more routes set up? County director for transport and infrastructure in Nordland county municipality, Odd Inge Bardal, says it is more complicated than that. Odd Inge Bardal tells news that they have focused on the routes where there is the most demand for transport. – We have received input from municipalities and others locally. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – If we paid for idling, there would be no idling anymore. That would mean very large additional costs for Nordland county council, says Bardal and adds: – We had to take that money from somewhere else. It would compete with other routes. Nordland County Council is also responsible for statutory school driving. The result of this is a lot of idling. – It is connected with where the bus and the driver are before the trip starts. The bus will also return. There will be a lot of empty driving in Lofoten and Vesterålen. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news Uses the same amount of diesel with or without passengers Grete Ellingsen in Høyre also wonders how it is possible to drive so much without passengers at a time when we have to meet strict climate targets. – How in God’s name has a ten-year contract been entered into at a time when we are seeing a revolutionary development in environmental technology? she asks. Bardal in the county council replies that they are also concerned about the environment, and that over time it will be phased over to more and more zero-emission technology. In Bodø only electric buses run. Over time, more and more buses throughout the county will be of the zero-emission type. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news – Our contract in Lofoten and Vesterålen was the first contract in which we had a requirement for electric buses, he says and explains that it is about the smaller buses. – After that, we have signed the Salten contract where all the buses in Bodø city are electric. It is one of the first cities, if not the very first, in all of Norway with only electric buses. In outer Helgeland, a contract has also been started where all the buses will be electric. – It is going in the right direction. I think we have traded our last contract which has diesel powered buses.
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Buses go around the world without passengers equivalent to 18 times a year – news Nordland
