The queues in and around Oslo cost motorists NOK 16 million a day in lost time. Just one minute more in the queue increases the cost by NOK 1.2 million. – Congestion has a high price. The cost to society becomes great when the queues grow, says Ingunn Handagard, press manager at NAF.
OSLO: From 6 May, public transport lanes in and around Oslo will be closed to electric vehicles. Then there will be more space on the roads. Queuing in the Oslo area is already expensive, as much as 16 million per day.
If everyone queuing today has to wait one minute longer, the cost will increase by 1.2 million a day. For society, it amounts to NOK 4 billion in lost time in a working year, states NAF in a press release.
– Four billion is what society loses from you and me standing in line. That’s loud enough in itself. But if the queues in Oslo grow, it will also affect all through traffic and goods transport that passes through Oslo on its way out to the whole country, says Ingunn Handagard.
Three years of standstill through the capital
The fact that electric motorists lose access to public transport lanes is the first step in the road network in and around Oslo being throttled. From 1 June, Ring 1 will be closed to traffic for three years. Then the traffic, which corresponds to a four-lane motorway, must transfer to other parts of the road network in and around Oslo. NAF fears traffic chaos.
– We are concerned that there will be three years of standstill on the main roads that pass through Oslo. Oslo lacks good bypasses, and traffic is directed onto a road network without capacity. Therefore, we are calling for more measures to enable commuters to put the car away. Extra buses, entrance parking and lower prices for public transport tickets are measures that can ease the pressure on the road network, says Handagard.
The electric drivers are mostly queuing today
Many people who drive electric cars today will have to find other means of travel. In NAF’s Traffic Barometer, it is the electric drivers who state that they stand in queues the most. When access to public transport lanes is closed, it is so that the buses will have better accessibility. NAF is skeptical about closing access completely, and believes that other solutions should be considered.
– Now the road authorities must follow closely. If it turns out that there is capacity for the electric cars to use the public transport lane for part of the day or if there are three or four people in the car, it should be allowed. The goal must be that as many people as possible can travel in the way that suits them, not to shut down a popular electric car advantage, says Handagard.
The calculation has been made on the basis of figures from NAF’s Traffic Barometer 2023. There, those who use a car on their everyday journey have answered how many minutes they stand in a queue per day. The queuing cost is calculated from the Swedish Road Administration’s figures for the value of the time motorists lose standing in queues.
