Routes in trouble in Oslo Large parts of the bus traffic in Oslo and Bærum have been cancelled, which has caused frustration among passengers. Marit Vea, Oslo’s environment and transport council, criticizes Ruter for poor public transport and calls them in for a meeting to clean up the dishes. Vea is surprised that the public transport system has collapsed and believes it is necessary to find out what has gone wrong. Eight out of ten buses in Oslo are electric, and there have been problems with some of these in the winter cold. Vea believes it is necessary to see if it is possible to make improvements within the current tender system. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On Friday afternoon, large parts of the bus traffic in Oslo and Bærum were cancelled. The reason was a not entirely unusual phenomenon in Norway during the winter. Snow. Bus chaos has characterized the Oslo area all year. Electric buses cannot cope with the winter cold. Articulated buses stay standing and spin even on flat ground. Canceled buses have become the norm. So have frustrated passengers. WAITING: Many people were waiting for buses and trams at Jernbanetorget on Friday. Photo: Jenny Dahl Bakken / news Too bad information – I think I just have to say that in January public transport was not good enough, says Oslo’s Environment and Transport Council Marit Kristine Vea (V). – People have struggled with canceled departures. They have been waiting for buses that have not arrived, and they have received far too little information. – It is simply too bad. I expect more from Oslo’s public transport services, thunders Vea. – Who hasn’t done their job? – That is what we have to find out. There have been demanding weather conditions, that’s one thing. – But we see that there are buses that simply do not work, even in normal Norwegian winter conditions, she says. Extraordinary owner’s meeting Marit Vea informs news that she, together with the other owner, Akershus County Municipality, is calling Ruter to an extraordinary owner’s meeting. The washing up meeting will be held early next week. – My job is to find out what has gone wrong, how it can be resolved, and how we can prevent this from happening later. The Swedish Transport Agency does not hide the fact that it is surprised that the public transport system has almost collapsed at times. – The type of problems we have seen in the last month, I have not come across before. – I have never experienced receiving such bad information. I have not experienced so many settings. I find this simply surprising, says Marit Vea. The 20 bus spins in Kirkeveien at Marienlyst on Wednesday. PHOTO: SVEIN OVE HANSLI Adjustments for Easter Among the surprises is Friday’s news from Ruter about adjustments until Easter around Grorud due to battery problems on the buses. Oslo SV’s transport policy spokesperson, Ola Wolff Elvevold, believes it is unacceptable that Groruddalen is given a lower priority and asks the city council to get involved. Marit Vea says that the city council is concerned that people should have good and predictable public transport services. – The fact that certain parts of the population will have a permanently reduced offer is extremely serious. This is also something we have to find out, says the Liberal City Council. SPINNING ON FLAT GROUNDS: Articulated buses in particular struggle on smooth roads. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news Ruter rejects human failure Ruter says they fully understand that the responsible politicians in Oslo want to have insight into the situation, but reject that there is human failure internally at Ruter. – Will Ruter clean up internally, and will someone simply have to go? – There is a premise in the question that someone in Ruter has done something wrong or wrong. We do not see that as a current issue. And we also don’t see it as a current issue that someone has to go, says Ruter’s director of communications and public relations, Elisabeth Skarsbø Moen. Photo: Ruter She believes diesel buses, electric buses and cars would all have problems in the weather we’ve had. – These problems are caused by weather. We have had extreme weather and difficult weather conditions, today is a day with a yellow warning, for example. So it is the weather conditions that are to blame for the problems we have had, in the main, she says. – But it is winter in Norway every year. Now there have been problems throughout January and you are warning of possible settings at Grorud right up until Easter. Is it just the weather that can be blamed on that? – The main problem is the weather, yes, says Moen. She adds that there have also been challenges with the range of some of the buses. – We have admitted that we could have done many things better. There is always room for improvement. But what we work on is learning along the way and correcting along the way. We have also done that here. Looking forward to the meeting But the city council’s colleague in the bus county of Akershus, county councilor for transport Håkon Snortheim (H), is also looking forward to the meeting with Ruter. He wants a discussion about what the owners can contribute. EXPECTING MORE: County Council for Transport in Akershus, Håkon Snortheim (H). Photo: Bård Nafstad / news – When politicians encourage citizens to travel by public transport, we must ensure that the transport system works as it should. – January has not been a good month for travelers in our region. We must expect the bus service to work well, even when it is cold, says Snortheim. Electric buses and tenders Many blame the electric buses. Eight out of ten buses in Oslo are currently electric. Others believe that the bus tender system itself is the root of all evil. Marit Vea says that some electric buses handle the winter well and have no problems with charging capacity, while others handle the winter poorly. – So something indicates that we have ordered some buses that do not work well enough. It is among the things we have to find out, she says. She also believes that yes or no to tenders is derailing the debate, but that one must see if it is possible to make improvements within the current tender system.
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The Swedish Transport Agency calls Ruter to a washing-up meeting after bus chaos – Greater Oslo
