Opinions This is a debate post. The post expresses the writer’s views.
The mayors in Bergen municipality and neighboring municipalities and the county mayor renewed an urban growth agreement with the state in 2020. There they committed themselves that the growth in passenger traffic should be taken up by public transport, cycling and walking and that passenger car traffic should not exceed the level in 2018. In return, the Bergen area has received several billion in grants from the state. Tolls are required for the construction of the light rail, development of the public transport system, cycle routes and several road projects. But will Bergen be able to reach the zero growth target?
Bergen benefits from that the reference year was set to 2018 since the 15 new toll stations were introduced in 2019 and public transport has also been greatly improved, including with a light rail to Fyllingsdalen in 2023 and also the opening of several cycle paths after 2018. Bergen has also had a lower percentage of population growth than Nord- Jæren and Trondheim in the period 2018 – 2023.
This has reduced the challenges for Bergen compared to the other urban areas. Helped by the pandemic (and thus the home office), the average traffic volume in the last three years was well below the 2018 level until 2023. Now the traffic volume is slowly but surely creeping above the 2018 level. But Bergen still has several opportunities to reduce car traffic.
The residents have both opportunity and willingness to change travel habits A population survey carried out in four districts in Bergen in 2022 (see https://bymobilitet.norceprosjekt.no/hjem) showed that only a fifth of those who drove a car to work had no alternatives . A full 70 per cent could travel by public transport, 23 per cent cycle and 11 per cent walk.
The survey shows that even in Ytrebygda and Fyllingsdalen, which have high proportions of car drivers, around 70 per cent have alternatives to driving. The same survey shows that one in three motorists want to reduce their car use, but half of these are unsure of how and when this can happen. This shows that there is an unfulfilled potential for reducing passenger car traffic.
Bergen has been the best among the three urban areas in terms of public transport shares, but is far below the other urban areas in terms of bicycle shares. While the city centers of Stavanger and Trondheim had cycling shares of 12 per cent in 2022, the center of Bergen is at four per cent. Outside the city centres, the bicycle shares are respectively eight per cent for Nord-Jæren and Trondheim, while it is three per cent for Bergen.
There is clearly a lot to gain here for Bergen by investing in the development of cycling infrastructure. With extra stimuli such as leasing and support schemes for electric bicycles, more motorists can be lured out of the car queue and onto bicycles.
On the collective side there is already a well-developed offer in Bergen. If you manage to reach an agreement on a light rail route to Åsane, the offer can be further improved. In addition, there are opportunities to introduce similar workplace offers as Nord-Jæren has with its HjemJobbHjem offer. Such arrangements can help to increase the competitiveness of public transport, but they are expensive.
However, it is doubtful whether these positive measures will be sufficient to keep car traffic at the 2018 level, even if many employees still choose a home office. Population growth will contribute to increased traffic. Then there can quickly be a queue – which is socially unprofitable and cost-effective for the business world. The solution then is to use restrictive measures.
The obvious means of action which is already on the way, is to increase toll rates for electric cars. It might help a little, but our research shows that while the initial introduction of tolls seems to change behaviour, increasing the rates has somewhat less of an effect.
If this is not sufficient, it is possible to introduce parking restrictions outside Bergen city centre. Bergen municipality already has relatively strict parking restrictions in the city centre, but there is still an opportunity to take a closer look at the parking rates for electric vehicles in the city centre. Over 60 percent of employees outside Bergen city center park for free in the employer’s car park
The parking survey among the politicians in Bergen municipality in 2021, however, showed that there was a small majority of the politicians who believed that parking fees should not be introduced in district centers and at workplaces outside the city centres. It is still a possibility, but first central authorities must give the municipalities the authority to introduce such parking fees on private areas. Until then, one will have to settle for introducing a moderate parking fee at public establishments outside city centres.
The research shows that there is an interest and opportunity among residents to reduce car use in Bergen. As far as Bergen is concerned, it is uncertain whether the measures mentioned above will be sufficient to stay at the 2018 level for passenger car traffic. There will be a need for other types of measures. One possibility is for public and private businesses to promote active transport as a health-promoting measure among employees. Another possibility is to make better arrangements for home offices.
Important is that and that the city’s leadership continues to promote environmentally and climate-friendly travel. If the state contributes with a VAT exemption for electric bicycles, this will also increase Bergen’s chances of reaching the zero-exchange target.
