– It takes too long to take the bus, and it becomes far too cumbersome. That’s what Wenche Lian says, who thinks it’s more about the travel time than the prices. She will no longer use the public transport service if the price of the monthly card is reduced. – It is not enough to reduce the price a little. For Wenche Lian, the most important thing is to get where you need to go as quickly as possible. Merete Foss takes both train and bus weekly. She thinks more people will want to take the bus if the price goes down. For Marius Løssen, traveling more by public transport is not an option. He commutes from Stjørdal to Midtbyen, and depends on being able to pick up the children from school quickly if something happens. Anne Gunhild Nørland thinks it is good if the prices go down, but she is convinced that it will not get more people to choose collectively. Eirik Weche usually takes the bus, but he admits that he would have driven if the municipality had built more parking spaces in the city. She is not alone in thinking this. In a new survey carried out by Noratat on behalf of news, 53 per cent in Trøndelag answered that they will not travel more collectively if the price of monthly passes is reduced. Election campaign issue Cheaper monthly cards have become an election campaign issue in the Trønstad capital ahead of this autumn’s election. The Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Green Party are all in favor of price cuts. Trondheim and Trøndelag Labor Party will halve the price of the monthly pass for everyone who takes the bus. They want the price of monthly tickets for adults down from NOK 920 to NOK 460. In the Trondheim region, the price cut will also apply to trains and trams. The Green Party is going to the polls in all counties on better and cheaper public transport services. The Liberal Party wants to reduce public transport fares across the country, making monthly passes NOK 250 cheaper for everyone. Trondheim will be able to go from being the most expensive public transport city to one of the cheapest. Since 2019, the metrobus system has been developed. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Seeing the positive in the numbers The survey is not all black for the parties that propose cheaper monthly cards: In Trondheim, 40 per cent say yes that a price reduction will lead to more public transport travel. Among the respondents under the age of 50 in Trondheim, a majority actually answer that cheaper bus tickets will lead to them taking the bus more. The fact that it still ends in a no is due to a clearly negative group of over 50s. Ap and MDG think these are good figures. – This tells us that many people can and will travel more by public transport if it becomes cheaper. I believe and hope that the car owners can also be tempted to leave the car, says Line Fjørstad (MDG). Line Fjørstad is satisfied that around half are willing to use public transport more if the price goes down. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news – It is almost more than expected, says the mayoral candidate in the Labor Party, Emil Raaen. Period tickets only APS’s proposal for cheaper tickets will only apply to monthly and period tickets. Emil Raaen (Ap) explains that they want to prioritize those who choose to change their travel habits. – We have a limited number of funds, so we have to prioritize the routes that go and the price. Emil Raaen explains that this prioritization is good for the people, good for the wallet and good for the ambitious climate goals they have set themselves. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news The reason why action has not been taken on cheaper ticket prices in the past is because the development of the metrobus system has come first. – We have expanded the bus so that we have the capacity to receive the passengers. Suggests using the whip Social economist Lana Krehic has researched public transport and demand. According to Krevich, reducing the price of monthly tickets will probably make people take more buses, but that other solutions will have a better effect. – If the purpose is to get car drivers to take the bus, the whip is probably more effective. Here, research shows that both reducing the number of parking spaces and increasing the price of using a car will reduce car use, says Lana Krehic. Lana Krehic believes that lower bus prices will be a good way to reduce the financial burden on those who have the least to do in society, but that it will not reduce car use. Photo: Elin Iversen / NTNU She explains that the research shows that travelers react more to changes in the price of single tickets than monthly tickets, which means that we are more price sensitive when it comes to the price of a single ticket. – In general, a reduction in the price of the monthly ticket will lead to a smaller increase in bus use than if the price of individual tickets is reduced. – A bluff Pål Sæther Eiden, the county mayoral candidate for the Conservative Party in Trøndelag believes that the Labor Party’s proposal is not realistic to achieve. – It is a desperate campaign play which I would characterize as a pure bluff, he asserts. Pål Sæther Eiden believes that reducing the price of just the monthly pass will not contribute to better public transport. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news He explains that he does not believe that everyone who is part of the environmental package will support the proposal. – They only give lower prices to those who already use it. Half price on the monthly pass is not the answer to better collective transport. He singles out students and young people as groups for whom ticket prices must be adjusted, while at the same time they must ensure more buses that are not overcrowded. Not suitable for everyday life For Wenche Lian and Anne Gunhild Nørland, prices are not the most important thing. They believe that most people who answered “no” to the survey are in a category that does not have the opportunity. – Commuting, small children and daily chores do not work combined with both waiting for full buses and having to change buses, says Anne Gunhild Nørland.
ttn-69
Will halve the price of monthly passes in Trondheim – majority skeptical about taking the bus more often – news Trøndelag
