– It had expired from yesterday. It will then be a new ticket. City councilor Raymond Johansen (Ap) opens the Ruter app on the tram from Adamstuen to central Oslo. – Single ticket. Here it says NOK 39. It will soon be history, says the city council leader. 20 percent cheaper on average In the Oslo budget that his city council presents on Wednesday, they propose to set aside NOK 200 million to lower prices from the New Year. On average, the single ticket is 20 percent cheaper. – We are launching a new ticket product. It is good news for the city’s population, says Environment and Transport Councilor Sirin Stav (MDG). – This means that the single ticket becomes cheaper the more often you travel. The purpose is to make it cheaper to travel by public transport and combine it with cycling and walking and, for example, home office, i.e. a new travel pattern, she says. Competition with electric cars – We have to get people back to public transport. We see that we have also received competition from the electric car in some parts of Oslo, adds Johansen. He also emphasizes that cheaper public transport tickets are a good distribution policy. “Everything” is becoming more expensive, and many of those struggling to make ends meet are dependent on public transport. – This can give them a little boost in a demanding financial everyday life, says Johansen. TICKET ON MOBILE: SV councilor Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll, MDG councilor Sirin Stav and Labor councilor Raymond Johansen all use the Ruter app. Photo: Olav Juven / news Was promised three years ago Cheaper tickets was a promise in the city council platform in 2019, but it took another pandemic before the promise was fulfilled. Many customers have called for more flexible tickets adapted to a new situation. With a few days a week in the home office, many have refused to invest in monthly cards. Expensive single tickets have meant that former public transport travelers have chosen the car instead. Passenger numbers are rising steadily, but Ruter still has fewer passengers than before the pandemic. Last week, the number of passengers was 94 percent of normal. Criticism for procrastination Both Ruter and the politicians have received criticism for having procrastinated in coming up with a solution adapted to people’s new everyday working life. – There has certainly been a demand for more flexible tickets. Ruter has worked on this over time. They first had to launch a new app, and now these new, flexible tickets are finally coming, says Sirin Stav. Just over 400 Ruter customers have tested a new type of ticket since February, called “Reis”. The more tickets you buy, the cheaper it gets. The personal discount is calculated based on how much you have traveled in the last 30 days. The system that will be rolled out on a full scale next year is based on the trial project, although the price examples are not necessarily correct. REIS: This is what the Reis ticket looks like in the pilot project in which more than 400 customers have participated since February. Photo: Routes If you choose public transport more than 21 times a month, it will still pay off with a monthly pass. The monthly card does not get cheaper. It costs NOK 814 today. Only in Oslo For the time being, only travelers in zone 1 will benefit from the new scheme. That means Oslo and parts of Bærum. In order for it to apply in the entire Ruter area, Viken County Municipality must also possibly put money on the table. Because Viken owns Ruter together with Oslo, Viken still has to approve that Oslo passengers get a separate discount. – The best thing for the traffic conditions, for the environment, for the climate and for the city of Oslo is for more people to take public transport. – There is a fantastic public transport service in Oslo, one of the best in Europe. Then people should use it, concludes city council leader Raymond Johansen.
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Routes with cheaper tickets in public transport in Oslo – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
