Earlier this month, the Government and the Storting decided that from 1 July, ferry routes with less than 100,000 passengers will be free for travelers each year. Commuters scatter the champagne. But a week and a half later, the Storting approved the Kvinnherad package, which demanded tolls on what will now be a free ferry route. Commuters had to “pour the champagne back in the bottle” for this gong. – I think it is greedily unfair, says Siren Lauvsland, who commutes from Varaldsøy to Årsnes. She works in Rosendal, and then takes the ferry across the fjord almost every day. – I do not drive past a single place they are going to start a road project, so I do not usually get to benefit from it. The other small ferries that will be free, drop tolls. So I do not see the point of this one burning for it, says Lauvsland. EVERY DAY: Siren Lauvsland is waiting for the ferry. The trip to and from work will not be free anyway. Photo: Tale Hauso / NRK – Will be a couple of thousand bucks At Ranavik ferry quay in the same municipality, the frustration is just as great. There the tolls are in addition to the ferry fare. – It will be more expensive again. Prices are going up, and that makes it much more difficult for us who commute, says Tommy Persson. He runs a catering company, and is dependent on the ferry when he delivers food. MORE EXPENSIVE: Tommy Persson glimpses the ferry on the horizon. He must pay both the ticket and the toll. Photo: Olav Røli / NRK In other words, most residents in Kvinnherad do not enjoy a free ferry, because more connections actually become more expensive. – It will be a couple of thousand bucks. Sometimes I travel over several gongs a week, and then of course there is a lot of money, says Persson. The government does not compensate The Kvinnherad package includes six development projects, as well as a framework for several measures in Kvinnherad. The package was prepared by the municipality and the county municipality before the government in May promised free ferry trips on routes with few passengers. TAXES ON THE FREE FERRY: You have to pay in advance when you go on a trip with MF Florøy. Photo: Olav Røli / NRK Liv Kari Eskeland (H) sits on the Transport and Communications Committee in the Storting. She thinks the government has created an expectation that more connections would be free. Cork business or residents distinguish between whether there is ticket revenue for the ferries, or whether there is tolls. So I understand very well the disappointment if this does not become a free connection, says Eskeland. Although she was one of 87 parliamentary representatives who voted for the Kvinnheradspakken earlier this month. The Ministry of Transport and Communications warns that tolls will not disappear. – There is nothing in the way of collecting tolls at the same time as it is free to travel by ferry. The government has not planned to compensate for toll revenues that will be demanded on the ferry connections, says Minister of Transport Jon Ivar Nygåd (Labor) to NRK.
ttn-69
The ferry trip was free – so there was tolls in the city – NRK Vestland
