– I use the bus or train every day, so it will affect me quite a bit if the prices go up. Student Celine Opdal Zachariassen travels by public transport to school, training and to get to central Bergen. From the new year, the prices of the monthly card in Bergen can increase by ten percent. That means NOK 75 more for adults and NOK 45 more for students per month. If it becomes more expensive, the student says she must consider dropping the monthly card. – Then I’d rather buy single tickets and travel less. It will have a lot to say for my everyday life, says Zachariassen. Blood-red rally for public transport The rise in the price of electricity, fuel and the after-effects of corona have led to blood-red figures for public transport. So far this year, counties with larger cities have lost several hundred million kroner each on buses, railways and trams. If the gap is not covered by the state, the consequence could be a sharp increase in ticket prices and cuts in the offer from the new year, county politicians in a number of counties fear. COULD INCREASE BY 10 PERCENT: The prices for bus, rail and ferry could increase by 10 per cent if Vestland county council is not compensated for the extra expenses, says county mayor Jon Askeland (Sp). Photo: Bård Nafstad Among them is county mayor in Vestland, Jon Askeland (Sp). In his county alone, the collective budget is now in the red by NOK 300 million. – We have chosen not to increase ticket prices this year in order not to put more pressure on people’s private finances, but now we are in a tight spot and this is no longer possible for us, says Askeland. And Vestland is not alone in its challenges. – UNPOPULAR MEASURES: County mayor in Vestland, Jon Askeland (Sp), fears the county council will have to take unpopular measures for public transport. Photo: Oskar Rennedal / news Major challenges in the big cities The figures news has received from county councils with larger cities show a similar trend: Oslo has had extra expenses of over NOK 500 million Viken has re-allocated the public transport budget by NOK 500 million Trøndelag’s public transport budget has been blown up by NOK 215 million HALF A BILLION: Oslo has pumped over half a billion kroner into public transport to get the wheels turning, according to the city council’s department for the environment and transport. Photo: Tore Ellingseter – There are few opportunities to cut, therefore we are completely dependent on being compensated by the government and the Storting, writes county mayor in Trøndelag Tore O. Sandvik (Ap) in an email. – There must be a strong strengthening in the state budget for both public transport and county roads. We must consider higher prices and cuts in offers if that does not happen, writes county councilor for transport in Viken, Olav Skinnes (Sp) in an e-mail. The government’s proposal for the state budget will be published on Friday. The Ministry of Transport therefore does not wish to comment on the matter now. – GET OPPORTUNITIES FOR CUTTING: County mayor Tore O. Sandvik (Ap) in Trøndelag writes that large parts of the extra expenses are linked to statutory tasks such as school transport. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo Presenting rescue package of 1.2 billion The prices for the goods and services that the travel company Ruter buys in Oslo have increased twice as much as the general price increase this year. This has meant that the city council in the capital has compensated extra expenses in public transport with over half a billion kroner from its own municipal coffers. – If Ruter doesn’t get money, then they have to cut back on the number of departures. We know that more people will then choose the car. Then we quickly end up in a vicious spiral with even less income for the public transport companies, says city council secretary for the environment and transport, Martin Nielsen (MDG). In order to avoid cuts in the offer or a large increase in ticket prices in the coming years, the city council is now putting forward a package of NOK 1.2 billion for the city council. In addition, the city council expects the government to strengthen the collective economy in the national budget. – As a minimum, the increase in the price of electricity and other things that are important for public transport must be compensated. If not, I fear poorer public transport across the country. Then there is even more trouble than before for both our own and the state’s goals of reduced traffic and emissions, says Nielsen. FEAR A VICIOUS SPIRAL: Martin Nielsen, who is the city council’s secretary for the environment and transport in Oslo (MDG), fears that more people will choose the car if public transport becomes worse and more expensive. Photo: Sturlasson / www.sturlason.no Researcher: – Public transport under extra pressure Increased prices and interest rates have left their mark on society. Public transport has probably been particularly hard hit, explains researcher Nils Fearnley at the Institute of Transport Economics. – The price of electricity and diesel has increased, so have the interest costs. In addition, wage costs have also contributed to the increase. So all in all, the costs of public transport have probably increased more than the rise in prices elsewhere in society, he says. On top of this, ticket revenues are still lower now than before the pandemic, adds Fearnley. If the county councils are not compensated for the extra expenses, he believes it is more important to preserve the routes than to keep the prices low: – If you have to choose between plague and cholera, then I think it is more important to preserve the route offer and rather, unfortunately, increase the prices. But neither is desirable or good for public transport, says Fearnley. Would prioritize enough bus departures (From left) Alfred Andersen Våge, Luca-Kristina Solheim and Amanda Kvammen study music at upper secondary school in Bergen. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen 15-year-old Luca-Kristina Solheim lives in Åsane outside Bergen and pays for the bus ticket into Bergen herself. She thinks the prices are already stiff, but if she had to choose between more expensive tickets and the route offer, the answer is simple: – That the bus runs enough times. Delays are stressful when you’re going somewhere after school. As long as you can count on the bus to arrive on time, I can pay more, says Luca-Kristina. She, Alfred Andersen Våge (15) and Amanda Kvammen (15) are studying music together at upper secondary school. They say that it is expensive to get around to gigs. Kvammen is also from Førde. It also means a lot of traveling by bus: – It costs a lot to go back and forth to visit friends. I have now used the youth ticket, which I think is very good, so I hope they will continue with it, she says.
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Several hundreds of millions are missing for public transport – may have to increase the ticket price sharply – news Vestland
