The matter summed up: There have been large ferry queues in the north this summer, especially at the Jektvik and Kilboghamn ferry quays. Vegtrafikksentralen has advised a 40-mile detour to avoid overnighting at the ferry quay. Storting representative for Høgre, Liv Kari Eskeland, owes the government that introduced free ferries. Eskeland believes that the government should introduce payment for the ferries again to solve the problem. State Secretary Bent-Joacim Bentzen (Sp) believes that the problem is not that the ferries are free, but that the capacity is not high enough. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. This summer there have been huge ferry queues in the north. At the Jektvik and Kilboghamn ferry quays on the Kystriksvegen, there has been complete ferry chaos in the last week. It peaked when 100 camper vans were left standing when the last ferry had left for the evening. Ulf Arne and his wife were going to drink champagne and celebrate their wedding day. They didn’t manage to do that because the ferries don’t use all their capacity. Now the parliamentary representative for Høgre, Liv Kari Eskeland, is putting pressure on the transport minister. – The government is just forced to deal with this. Now they have pushed the problem in front of them. Well, they got a free ferry, that was something they chose to do. She claims that the government has not carried out an impact assessment on what the free ferry will entail. – Now we see the result. There is chaos at the ferry terminal. Photo: Frank Nygård / news Detour of 40 miles The ferry between the aforementioned Jektvik and Kilboghamn is free for both passengers and vehicles, something that has contributed to the heavy traffic increase this summer. A week ago, Vegtrafikksentralen issued a warning that motorists should consider detouring over Saltfjellet to avoid overnighting at the ferry quay. The ferry trip normally takes around one hour. If you choose to drive the road traffic centre’s recommended route, you have a trip of 40 miles and over seven hours ahead. – We have now seen to an increasing degree that there has been more and more chaos when it comes to ferries and ferry transport, Eskeland believes. Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and Nord University Nesna in 2022, when it became known that the government would introduce free ferries on a number of connections. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news One of the reasons why the Center Party wanted to introduce free ferries was to create growth and development also in the coastal and island communities. On the other side, several people point to the challenge of the ferries being filled with tourists and the permanent residents struggling to get on. Liv Kari Eskeland believes that paid ferries will lead to a change in attitude among the passengers to a greater extent than if the ferries were to be free for everyone. Photo: Olav Røli / news – Consequences were not investigated Among the reasons why there is chaos on the ferry, Eskeland points out: – One is that there are changes in emergency ferries and requirements for rest time. But what is perhaps most revealing are the free ferries which now turn out to have far too little capacity. In addition, many tourists come, which is good, according to Eskeland. – Nevertheless, it is Norwegian taxpayers who sponsor German tourists who travel by ferry and the permanent residents are left standing. This, she believes, was not considered when the government introduced it. Therefore, she believes that the government should introduce payment for the ferries. – Now we have reduced the ferry prices. We have been involved in this on national road ferries and on other county road ferries. So it must be as part of such a ferry fare regime. It is possible to adapt in a completely neat and straightforward way. She believes that the local population who live on these islands are more concerned that ferries run frequently and from early in the morning until late at night, than that they are free. Sp: – Free ferry is not the problem State Secretary Bent-Joacim Bentzen (Sp) has been presented with criticism from Høgre. He points out that queues in the summer will probably be avoidable. – That the people get a free ferry ride is not, in my view, the problem. The problem is the capacity of the connection. It is not the case that Høgrestyrte Oslo set the price of the tram when he is drunk. Bent-Joachim Bentzen in the Center Party. Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen / news – What will the government do to reduce the queues? – Free ferry is important for business. That is why this government, in addition to introducing free ferries, has strengthened the framework subsidy to counties by approximately 8 billion 2024 kroner, compared to the previous government in 2019. According to him, this is a move to, among other things, avoid such problems. He claims that Høgre, in its alternative budget for 2024, proposes cuts of billions to the county, which, among other things, go to transport. – Eskeland should make a phone call to his party colleagues in Nordland. There, Høgre is for free ferry and certainly does not want less money, even if Høgre nationally wants to remove the advantage for people along the coast if they come to power. Published 28/07/2024, at 10.55
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– More and more chaos on the ferries – news Nordland
