Economy and business, Bybanen | Truck drivers are scared. This is what Bybanen says about the problem.

On Monday 22 April, a man in his 30s died after being hit by a light rail car at Nonneseter in the center of Bergen.

The deceased is said to have driven a rental van from Ryde.

At BA’s request, Bybanen AS has reviewed the accident statistics for the period 2020 to April 2024.

The figures show that running wheels are a challenge:

The light rail has had six collisions with scooters that have resulted in injuries: 2021 (3), 2022 (1), 2023 (1) and the tragic incident in Kaigaten/Nonneseter.
In addition, Tide recorded a near miss with a scooter in March 2024.
In total, there have been 13 personal injuries in collisions. In 2021, three of the four injured were racing wheel drivers.

– We investigate all serious accidents, and have a particular focus on mapping and analyzing what happened during the death in Kaigaten. We see that impellers are a challenge, partly because they can quickly accelerate and change direction. We will now involve the rental companies and the Urban Environment Agency in Bergen municipality to look at the possibility of taking measures, says Eirik Grønstøl, head of Safety and Technology in Bybanen.

The industry has introduced several changes to make it safer to drive electric scooters:

The Ryde boss about the death: – A tragic accident

Low risk for pedestrians

The police are now beginning to form a picture of what happened in the fatal seconds at Nonneseter.

Police attorney Kjersti Katrine Svendsen says that the deceased man was driving parallel to and in the same direction as the Bybanen he eventually crashed into.

According to Bybanen’s safety manager, pedestrians have a low risk of being hit by the track.

– Fortunately, few pedestrians are injured, and the number of incidents is limited. But we see that both motorists, bus drivers and carriage drivers have a challenge in the cityscape, where people do not pay enough attention: They walk around with their noses in their mobile phones or have music in their ears, says Eirik Grønstøl.

He adds that pedestrians are used to heavier road users showing consideration, but that the Bybanen has a long braking distance and “can’t stop at a roundabout”.

When BA visited Nonneseter the day after the accident, we observed several people driving or walking on a red light over the tracks:

Has prevented fall accidents

Several carriage drivers tell BA that they are frightened by constant near misses in the city centre, and that they experience dangerous situations on a daily basis.

– What specific accident prevention measures are being assessed along the route?

– The intersection at Nonneseter is being rebuilt these days, with a wider roadway for the buses. We have had several incidents where the back of a bus runs into the Bybanen. At the Minde Alle junction, we think the accident frequency will decrease when people get used to line 2 and the traffic settles, says Eirik Grønstøl to BA.

Vestland County Council and the National Roads Administration have shared responsibility for the intersection between Strømgaten and Kaigaten, where Monday’s fatal accident occurred.

Bente Isdal in the National Road Administration states that the intersection is not defined as an accident point. The definition of an accident point is a minimum of four police-reported personal injury accidents in five years, over a distance of a maximum of 100 m.

Bybanen highlights another damage prevention measure that already seems to be working.

Since 2021, ten people have been injured inside the tram, but so far this year the number of reported injuries is zero:

– We have removed the ticket validators inside the carriages, which have enabled the public to sit down straight away, and not be injured in the event of a fall when the track is moving. Here we have made a clear improvement, which we are satisfied with.