The case in summary: Commuters and politicians are frustrated by the queue on the E18 west of Oslo, after the electric cars were thrown out of the public transport zone and the closure of Ring 1 in Oslo. The queue causes people to arrive late for work and assignments, and it is proposed that the public transport area be opened to electric cars again during certain periods of the day. Bus commuters notice that the bus arrives easier on the E18 now than before, but no one has noticed that more people take the bus into Oslo after the electric cars disappeared from the public transport area. Mayor of Asker, Lene Conradi, believes carpooling can be a solution to reduce the number of cars on the road. County mayor in Akershus, Anette Solli, believes the state must give more money to public transport in Akershus after the closure of Ring 1 in Oslo. Research leader at the Transport Economic Institute, Askill Harkjerr Halse, believes that the most effective measure to reduce the queue will be to make it more expensive to drive a car during rush hour. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It’s going very slowly. There is a lot of traffic. This is how carpenter Alan Shair from Horten describes the queue on the E18 towards Oslo from Asker. Shair has several assignments in Oslo. The queue means that he is often late. – Almost every day. If I drive at five in the morning, I can make it. On Wednesday, he did not drive from Horten until six o’clock. That is why he arrived too late for the examination he was supposed to have in Oslo at nine o’clock. COMMUTERS: Carpenter Alan Shair from Horten is often late for assignments in Oslo because of the queue. Photo: Kjartan Røslett / news Worst in the morning Several commuters news has spoken to agree with Shair. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration confirms that there are more traffic jams from the west after the electric cars were thrown out of the public transport zone and the closure of Ring 1 in Oslo. They described this in a report from June. This applies particularly in the afternoon rush hour, and on Sunday afternoons on typical holiday weekends. Furthermore, they write that in week 18, which was the week before the electric cars were thrown out, the average speed in the afternoon rush hour was 70 kilometers per hour. Two weeks after the electric car ban came into effect, the average was 25 kilometers per hour. – It is quite impassable most of the day. Especially in the early morning, says Geir Tangvald-Jensen. IMPOSSIBLE: Askerbøringen Geir Tangvald-Jensen says that the queue on the E18 has gotten worse. Photo: Ola Hana / news He says that people spend more time than ever after the public transport lane was closed to electric cars. Tangvald-Jensen says those who live in Asker and Bærum are frustrated. But how to solve the queue problems is no easy task. – There is no quick solution here, but they may have to open the public transport area during certain periods of the day, he suggests. Feeling trapped Mayor of Asker Lene Conradi from the Conservative Party says that the queue is getting worse for those who live in the municipality. – It is a big burden on our residents. They feel trapped. She agrees with Askerbøring Tangvald-Jensen. The collective field must be opened for electric cars again. LOCKED IN: The right-wing mayor of Asker, Lene Conradi, says that the queue is a big burden for those who live in the municipality. Photo: Ola Hana / news Carpooling is a proposal. If more people drive together, there will also be fewer cars on the road, the mayor states. Conradi says that the queue in Asker now stands more often than before. Both at weekends and in the evening. The load on the local roads is also great. – How will it be to live with this if no changes are made? – It is actually not possible. – Less traffic in the bus lane It is now over three months since the electric cars disappeared from the public transport lanes in Oslo and Akershus. The aim of the electric car ban was to make it easier for buses to get there, and for more people to travel by public transport. – There is probably less traffic in the bus lane now than there was before the summer. It’s because all the electric cars have been thrown out, of course, says bus commuter Dag Karsten. But Karsten says the queue on the E18 means that more car commuters use the local roads. This makes it more difficult for the buses to get on the inner roads, says Johanne Lie Tærum. BETTER: Bus commuter Johanne Lie Tærum says that the bus arrives more easily on the E18 now compared to before. Photo: Ola Hana / news – There is a lot of traffic there, which means that the bus arrives late at the bus stop, says Tærum. The collective commuters news has spoken to agree. The bus arrives more easily on the E18 now than before. But none of them have noticed that more people are taking the bus into Oslo after the electric cars disappeared from the public transport network. – Dønn stop According to county mayor in Akershus Anette Solli from the Conservative Party, the rush hour on the E18 west of Oslo has become longer. – Now there is a dead stop, even in the middle of the day. Solli and the county council in Akershus are responsible for public transport in the county. She says that they spend all the money they have on the citizens traveling by public transport. MORE MONEY: County deputy mayor in Akershus, Anette Solli, from the Right believes that the state must give more money to public transport in the county. Photo: Ola Hana / news But when the government and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration close Ring 1 in Oslo, Solli believes that the state must give more money to public transport in Akershus. – Such a package should have been present. This simply seems a bit poorly prepared. If they had received more money, they would also be able to set up more bus departures, the county mayor states. Wants a higher rush-hour charge Askill Harkjerr Halse is research leader at the Institute of Transport Economics. Figures they have collected show that there have been slightly fewer cars on the roads towards Oslo. But the decrease is too small to prevent the queues from getting longer. – Where there was a lot of traffic before, such as west of Oslo, you can see that there are some challenges. RUSH TIME TOLL: Research leader Askill Harkjerr Halse at the Transport Economic Institute believes that higher rush hour tolls are the solution to the queue problems west of Oslo. Photo: Ola Hana / news Halse believes that the most effective measure to reduce the queue will be to make it more expensive to drive a car during rush hour. At the same time, it can be made cheaper to drive a car when there are fewer people on the roads. So higher rush hour tolls, that’s the answer? – It probably won’t have a huge effect, but even a small effect can be quite significant in getting traffic to flow better. Published 26/08/2024, at 09.28 Updated 26.08.2024, at 15.49
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Proposal to solve congestion problems in Oslo by reopening public transport lanes for electric cars – Greater Oslo
