For several years, Oslo municipality has played an important role in promoting electric mobility. Oslo is the world’s best in terms of electrification, and it is now rare to see anything other than electric buses in this city. All the ferries are electric, the trains are electric, the tram and the subway are never fossil fuels. In a country where we import the green shift to a large extent by buying assets that others make money from, we should see how we can manage the investments for green mobility. It now holds Facilitating electric cars through the construction of charging stations has been a key part of this initiative. A necessary and successful effort that has contributed to the electric car becoming dominant today. The time has come to remove local subsidies for the use of electric cars. The private actors have now built a charging infrastructure across the country, and the private actors will have better development opportunities if the country’s municipalities focus on other tasks and expenditure items. The private ones are better Oslo municipality has for many years subsidized motoring through free and now reasonable charging, in addition to taking on the costs of building and maintaining charging stations. It has been an investment in a greener future. At the same time, it is not sustainable that Oslo, and by extension: the rest of the country’s municipalities, should continue to subsidize charging. At a time when the private market has developed very good solutions, both in terms of availability, speed and stability, it makes sense to ask the question: Are municipal charging stations still necessary for residents? I think the answer is no. Charging now works Technology has come a long way, and the business players who supply charging infrastructure have emerged as strong, reliable alternatives. The private market now offers charging all over Oslo, with faster speeds and higher stability than the municipal solutions. This is not only more efficient for the users, but also a way of relieving the municipality’s budgets. The electric car is already the new norm for new cars in Oslo, and when almost everyone who buys a new one chooses electric, this happens by itself without the intervention of politicians. Which politician wants more motoring? To continue with municipally operated charging would be to subsidize car use in a city which aims to reduce car traffic. Queue at E18 in Oslo. Photo: NTB The researchers say that car traffic will increase by as much as 20 per cent in the coming years, and the municipality should not subsidize any form of private motoring in a city that is supposed to promote walking, cycling and the world’s best public transport network. The fossil car is the cigarette, but the electric car is the snuff. Electric car success continues Oslo has led the way in a national restructuring of how we organize charging for electric cars. The municipality can set a precedent for the rest of the country by showing that it is possible to phase out the municipal charging infrastructure without compromising the needs of electric drivers. This will not only save large sums for municipal budgets, but also contribute to a fairer use of public funds. Where I live, in central Oslo, there are approx. a quarter of households own their own car, and what starts in central Oslo often spreads to the rest of the country. Municipal directors all over the country can save The Oslo budget that was put forward by the Liberal Party on 25 September is interesting for KS and all municipal directors in this country. Here, a cost of 76.5 million has been entered in budget item 543 entitled “Charging electric vehicles – package”. 357 municipalities must save now Opinion asked motorists in Oslo and the surrounding area this year whether you can easily get a private charging solution at home, and only 18 per cent answered no. This minority can use private charging solutions today. The country’s 356 other municipalities should work to get an overview of how much subsidy is given to the private car, and include this in the autumn’s budget debate. In Oslo, no such overview has been made. The politicians in the capital have adopted the following in the Hammers Citizen Declaration: The city council will greatly increase the number of publicly available fast and lightning chargers for electric cars throughout the city, in collaboration with private actors. In the Oslo budget, the position thus proposes a continuation of massive subsidisation. Stop the subsidies The government incentives for the purchase of a new car work excellently. In order to achieve the goal of less private car traffic, an important step is for municipalities to stop subsidizing private cars. It should start already in 2025 in the world’s electric car capital. The future is electric. Published 30.09.2024, at 13.48
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The electric car has had enough – Statement
