– They have to think about the passengers. This is very important. That’s what Rune Wollner–Hagen (49) says. He has stomach problems, which means that there may be an urgent need for a toilet. It wasn’t on the three-hour bus trip he was on recently. None of the 108 new electric buses in Buskerud have toilets on board. – We fully understand that those with critical bowel disease have challenges traveling with public transport. Normally, there are no toilets on this type of bus in the tender area. This is what Terje Sundfjord, managing director of the collective company Brakar, tells us. Now the Gastrointestinal Association is demanding a new law that prohibits the purchase of long-distance buses without a toilet. Secretary General Mads Johansson of the Gastrointestinal Association says that the current legislation is not good enough. Photo: Ragnhild Elnæs/Kolonihaven.no Dependent on the toilet Rune Wollner–Hagen has Crohn’s, a chronic inflammation of the stomach and intestinal tract. When he was recently going to travel by bus from Kongsberg to Geilo, a trip of 159 kilometres, he was not aware that the new bus lacked a toilet on board. – It is not just us with stomach problems, but many others who are also dependent on a toilet. Many of the passengers reacted, he says. Around 15 per cent of the population has irritable bowel syndrome, and around 20 per cent have an overactive bladder. In June, the Institute of Transport Economics presented a report showing that a lack of toilets in public transport and in public places limits the quality of life for many. Rune Wollner–Hagen says that the practice of announcing new bus tenders without a requirement for a toilet on longer journeys must be stopped. For him it will be difficult to take the bus again, and next time he will drive. – I think that is strange and a bit reckless. It is a must to have a toilet on such buses. NEW BUSES: 108 new buses have been purchased by the public transport company Brakar. No one has a toilet, not even on longer bus routes. Photo: Christine Breivik Øen / news Long way to go General Secretary Mads Johansson of the Gastrointestinal Association says they have fought hard to get the law changed. In a collaboration between the Stomach-Tarmforbundet and eight other user organisations, they won the decision that buses cannot close the toilet while driving. Recently, the toilets have been reopened on longer bus routes in Trøndelag, after the company AtB received an order to this effect from the Discrimination Board. In May this year, the Ministry of Transport changed the regulations following pressure from the union. It has now been established that you as a passenger can take off your seat belt to use the toilet on buses while driving. New bus tenders can still be announced without a requirement for a toilet on long-distance buses, as they have done in Buskerud. – The law should prohibit the purchase of long-distance buses without a toilet on board. It is as discriminatory as closing the toilets. Unfortunately, the legislation is not good enough today, says Johansson. Passenger Rune Wollner–Hagen thinks the new buses have good seats and are nice, but hopes some of them can get toilets. Photo: Christine Breivik Øen / news No plans to change the law The ministry has no plans to change the law: – For buses that are covered by public purchases, the county council can set requirements for the vehicles used, and is also the closest to assessing the need for its routes. We assume that both the county councils and the transport companies make proper assessments of how the need for toilet visits is taken care of. So says senior communications adviser at the Ministry of Transport, Frøydis Tornøe. In the tender from Viken county council, there is no requirement for toilets in the 108 new buses, which have been bought in Buskerud. – On normal school transport and regular bus routes in Norway, both on short and long routes, there are rarely toilets. That’s according to Terje Sundfjord, managing director of collective company Brakar. Asking the county council to intervene Secretary General of the Gastrointestinal Association, Mads Johansson, says he is provoked by the response from the ministry and the public transport company. – It is incredible that neither the Ministry of Transport nor Brakar sees the need to stop this practice, which both passengers and bus drivers are against. Now he is asking the county council in Buskerud to intervene as soon as possible.
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Toilet required on long-distance buses in Norway – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
