HARAMSØYA/OSLO (VG) Instead of paying NOK 350 per day toll, Torbjørn Aakre bought a four-wheeled electric motorcycle. It sneaks over the barrier – completely free.
Almost every day, best friends Torbjørn Aakre (19) and Knut Aksnes (19) commute from Haramsøya to Ålesund, where they both live, and to Vard Electro on the mainland, where they are both apprentices.
– It’s like turning on a refrigerator. And then you put wheels on top of it, and a steering wheel inside it, says Knut Aksnes about the driving experience of the “micro car”, which is of the kind Tazzari Electric.
Save money
Between home and workplace is Lepsøybroen. Where a ride with a fuel car costs NOK 175 with a car pass agreement and NOK 219 without. Aakre bought the “car” for around NOK 150,000 – and did so precisely because the tolls were due.
– I saw how much it would cost. And then it was just a matter of finding other solutions. Either I had to move from here, or find another cheaper way to get over the barrier, the 19-year-old tells VG.
Both are apprentices and claim to have an apprentice salary of around NOK 18,500 before tax. If they had driven to work in a fossil-fuel car and maxed out 40 season tickets, it would have cost them NOK 7,000 a month.
Drive together
VG wrote on Wednesday about Malin Alvestad Hjelle (36) and her husband Philippe Bessemans (43), who received a toll of NOK 8,500 for just one month of driving, mostly on the same route.
– In the beginning, I got a knot in my stomach every time I came here. Now I try not to think about it. But when the bill comes, it ties up again, Hjelle told VG.
Aksnes and Aakre drive the “minivan” from Haramsøya, where they both live – a few hundred meters away – over the bridge and over the toll booth – to Skjelten. There they parked a car that they drive to work.
Thermal suit in winter
The “Microcar” is registered as a motorcycle. It has a maximum speed of 80 km/h and can be driven with a class B driving licence.
– There’s a lot of time out there. Is it safe to cross the bridge in winter?
– I think it will be fine. We bought proper winter tires for the “car,” says Aakre.
But the 19-year-olds figure they’ll likely be wearing thermal suits in the “car” when they commute over the bridge in the winter.
Nor is Torbjørn Aakre’s mother, Julianne Aakre, worried about the 19-year-olds when they have to drive across the bridge in winter.
– They are responsible and mature young people, and they make good choices, he tells VG.
Toll company: – It doesn’t mean anything
The toll company Vegamot AS is responsible for toll collection on Nordøyveien.
– What do you think about people who buy scooters and four-wheeled motorcycles to avoid paying the toll?
– We don’t mean anything about it. We are referring to the rate decision. As long as there are no tolls for motorcycles, we have no opinion on this, Vegamot managing director Marius Maske tells VG.
He says the toll company has not received any special requests from motorists dissatisfied with the rates.
– I think people understand that it’s not Vegamot that set the price for the rate decision. As long as there is no toll on motorcycles, we have no opinion on that, she says.
