A well-paid bus driver reads a Bjørnson poem to a minibus full of children with lunch boxes on top. It sounds more like a bad skit than the travel technology of the future. Researchers believe that the Norwegian shuttle system – unique in Europe – can be a great success across the continent. – Dad and mum at work It was two fathers of three in Molde who were pressed for time and came up with the idea. For half a year, the scheme has been tested and improved. Now the bus goes from nursery school to nursery school and picks up small children with rucksacks between high plow edges. Goda (10) is content to be picked up by a minibus. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Goda Matulyte is ten years old and loves the solution. – It works well! We are picked up by a bus, and it is better for the environment than driving many cars. And mum and dad are working now, so they can’t leave work. – If we’re going to be a bit critical here then: Can’t they cycle or go to the tournament themselves? – Then I should have arrived too late. And when there is so much snow, I don’t think we could have made it all the way, says the ten-year-old gymnast. The conversation is interrupted when the bus rounds down a hill with a view of the Molde panorama. The driver quotes the poem “Romsdalen” by the local poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The kids don’t seem to be harmed by it. Some of the children used the ride to eat lunch, others let the chat go – with pupils from other schools. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Car number two Researcher Hampus Karlsson at Sintef can tell you that the scheme is completely unique in Europe. He has researched what is needed for the shuttle system to work in both small towns and large cities. Hampus Karlsson researches mobility at SINTEF. Photo: SINTEF – We have a suspicion that this can do more than just reduce time pressure, driving and greenhouse gas emissions, says the researcher. He thinks about inclusion. – Not everyone has parents with a car, or a job that allows time to transport the kids, says Karlsson. Can activity transport work near you? Yes, there are plenty of everyday complications here. No, car and bus work well. Do not know. Show result Today, some municipalities have a practice of sponsoring taxi transport for the poorest children. A minibus filled with people of the same age will of course be both cheaper and less visible than coming by taxi. The researcher also points to other advantages. – If you don’t have to drive the child to training, you might get an extra 15 minutes, so you can walk or cycle. The home may not need a second car. – What are the challenges here? – In Europe, people live much closer and are more numerous than in Molde and Ålesund. It presents challenges, but also bigger markets. Tour bus driver Jan Tore Tornes from Tornes tour buses Photo: Roar Strøm / news Norway’s most eel-ridden It is Jan Tore Tornes who today drives the minibus and speaks into the microphone. On the first trip, he drove a girl alone to climb. Now the bus is full of gymnasts. – I have the impression that the children like the offer, they seem very relaxed about it, says Tornes. Roll call. Photo: Roar Strøm / news The young people introduce themselves when they get on board, and the driver ticks them off in his app. The app also finds the most efficient route, based on who will be on the bus. – And then the mum and dad can see if the child has been picked up, and follow them in the app to the door, says the bus driver. In autumn, Tornes was voted the most eel-headed guy in Norway by Jo Nesbø and the Harry Hole Foundation. When he is not driving children, he drives aid trucks to Ukraine – or guides pensioners on a tour bus. – Do you talk as much when you have children on board as when you have older people on tour buses? – No, but I say good morning and ask if everything is going well. Yes, it is the sound of us humans that is important, Tornes believes. Party transport Kristin Solli works for Nimmo, the company that has developed the app and the transport solution. Kristin Solli is responsible for sales and marketing in Nimmo, and says that the company, which now drives children in Molde and Ålesund, has plans for more places. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Solli says that they pick up children both at school, after-school care and at home in the evening, and take them to such things as gymnastics, climbing, football, dance and cultural school. – But it’s not free? – No, the parents pay NOK 22 per trip. The drivers also face unusual challenges, such as young boys who have to take a pee break or passengers who want to be followed to the door because they are afraid of the dark. Transport researcher Karlsson says that the solution can work for much more than transporting children. In small towns, it could be far better than a scheduled bus. – And young people and others can come home from parties and the pub at weekends for cheap money, he says.
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According to Sintef, Nimmo activity transport Molde can remove time constraints and reduce private driving – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
