SNOW AND COLLECTIVES IN OSLO: Not necessarily always a good combination. This winter has provided an answer to that. Photo: Rodrigo Freitas / NTB
Some of the electric buses in Oslo are not designed for either winter weather or driving in ordinary summer conditions. Now the Transport Agency in Oslo demands an answer from Ruter.
Published:
Less than 2 hours ago
- The electric buses in Oslo have problems in winter, and now it turns out that some of them can also struggle for the rest of the year.
- The collective company Ruter has had major problems this winter.
- Marit Kristine Vea, the Oslo Transport Council, expects Ruter to find solutions in the short and long term to improve public transport.
Sea view
This winter, the public transport company Ruter, which runs buses, trams and the subway in Eastern Norway, has experienced major problems.
Cold temperatures led to complete bus chaos in the capital last week. On Monday 8 January, 1,000 bus departures in Oslo were canceled followed by a day of more than 200 canceled bus departures in Oslo and Akershus. The buses had cards rangerangeHow far a vehicle can travel on a full charge or tank of fuel – in this case it’s electric buses. and were also freezing cold.
FRP leader Sylvi Listhaug called the bus chaos “a scandal” to VG.
The Labor Party in Oslo demanded an answer from the Conservative city council about how this could happen.
TROUBLE: This Ruter bus suffered a setback at the start of the year. The reason? Challenging weather conditions. Photo: Truls Nygård / NTB
On Wednesday, all buses in Oslo and Bærum were canceled for several hours, and other parts of public transport also had to be stopped, due to the snow that has fallen in the capital area.
However, it is only this winter that Ruter’s electric buses in particular have experienced major problems, even though the public transport company has been running electric buses for six years – since 2018.
The Ruter director: – Concerned about the problems
The main reason for the Ruter problems are two specific contracts.
The bus contracts apply in Oslo’s inner city and in Oslo’s northeast – and both are run by Unibuss, reports NRK.
According to Unibuss itself, there are buses delivered from two specific subcontractors that have had problems.
– They simply use more electricity per kilometer than they are promised they will, says Ruter’s managing director, Bernt Reitan Jenssen, to the state channel.
COLLECTIVE TROUBLE: It has become a familiar issue for Oslo citizens this winter. Photo: Espen Sjølingstad Hoen / VG
Not only are there major problems in winter, but Ruter’s electric buses can also struggle the rest of the year.
– Ruter is concerned that the problems are linked to the buses they have bought, and may persist beyond the winter season, says Reitan Jenssen.
VG has been in contact with Ruter for an interview with Reitan Jenssen, but he has not been available on Wednesday evening. The communications department of the public transport company has also not responded to VG’s questions on Wednesday evening.
Oslo municipality owns Ruter.
read more about the storm that is raging in Oslo here!
NOT SATISFIED: Ruter director Bernt Reitan Jenssen is not satisfied with how Ruter’s subcontractors have delivered. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB
The Swedish Transport Agency: – Expect Ruter to sort things out
– I fully understand that people react when parts of public transport fail, there is no doubt that there are certain areas where Ruter and the municipality can improve, says samferdselsbyradsamferdselsbyradA politician who is responsible for transport and public transport in a municipality or city. In this case, we are talking about the transport council in Oslo, Marit Kristine Vea., Marit Kristine Vea (V), to VG.
She explains, in the same vein as the Ruter director, that the problems mainly concern certain buses and bus lines, where the charging capacity of the electric buses is too poor and not up to the desired standard.
– I expect Ruter to find solutions to this, both in the short and long term. It is not a choice of technology that has led to certain routes having problems. It is a choice of bus type, says Vea.
Wednesday was also the first meeting of the year in the transport committee in Oslo city council – and there Ruter had to explain the bus chaos that has prevailed in the capital area this winter.
THE TRAFFIC COUNCIL ANSWERS: Marit Kristine Vea believes Ruter needs to sort things out – both in the short and long term. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
– How will you, as city councilor for transport, intervene in this matter?
– I do not enter into contractual relations between two actors under private law. Not even into which sanctions are relevant, says Vea.
Ruter director Reitan Jenssen believes that the problems with the buses in Ruter’s view are a breach of the contract. They have not received the offer they ordered, he says.
– Many people in the capital and the surrounding area use and depend on Ruter’s services every single day, don’t they deserve better?
– For the city council, it is one of our most important priorities to have simple, accessible and affordable public transport services that work, both for residents and visitors. So I want to make sure that Ruter and the municipality will learn from this, and ensure the best possible offer throughout the year, replies the Transport Agency.
Published:
Published: 17.01.24 at 23:03
2024-01-17 22:03:27
#Ruter #recognizes #electric #bus #problems #year
