Crisis meeting about possible Unibus bankruptcy in Oslo City Hall – Greater Oslo

– Bankruptcy is always a scenario when we operate with commercial companies, says Marit Vea (V).

She meets NRK right after the crisis meeting in the transport committee in the city council.

It was held behind closed doors in Oslo City Hall.

Vea was called to the extraordinary meeting by the opposition in the city council.

The Labor Party, SV and MDG wanted to know what she, as responsible city councillor, is doing to avoid a collapse in the public transport system.

Tough negotiations

The one question is what the city council is doing to prevent Unibus from going bankrupt.

Ruter has previously confirmed to NRK that the buses will be parked, at least for the first few days.

It will be very dramatic for the travelers in Greater Oslo. Unibuss currently runs between 60 and 70 percent of the red city buses in Oslo and all the green regional buses in Bærum.

Here, tough negotiations are currently taking place between Ruter on the one hand and Unibus and Sporveien on the other.

NRK was able to report on steep fronts on Wednesday.

– Very complicated

Vea admits that the matter is difficult.

– It is very complicated. It is a contractual relationship between two parties. There are a number of legal restrictions. So this is very complex matter.

– But I have great faith that we, together with both Unibuss and Ruter, will arrive at a good solution to ensure that the bus service is maintained, she says.

The second question is what is the plan is if the negotiations should end with Unibuss being declared bankrupt.

– We have preparedness for all worst-case scenarios, regardless of which companies provide services.

– We also have that in this case, but I don’t want to go into the details, says Marit Vea to NRK.

Sat with the responsibility

However, the politicians found out more in the meeting itself. It was closed because Vea announced that she would provide confidential information.

Committee leader Sirin Stav (MDG) is glad they got the explanation they have been asking for for weeks.

– But we are still concerned and uneasy about the situation.

– It is a dramatic situation for our city when public transport can potentially collapse. It will have major consequences for the city and for over 2,000 employees who are afraid that they will not have a job to go to, she says.

– You sat on the city council when all these contracts were entered into. Unibuss made a loss in 2022 and in 2023 while you were a city councillor. Don’t you have such a big responsibility?

– We are concerned with how we handle the situation now. An external evaluation has been launched into how we got to where we were last winter and what we can learn from this to avoid it happening again.

– It is a responsibility we all have as elected representatives, says Sirin Stav.

Being parked

Ruter CEO Bernt Reitan Jenssen also says bankruptcy is an option no one wants, but which cannot be ruled out.

He confirms that a possible bankruptcy means that the buses will be parked. What then happens is up to the housing board.

– It will at least be very demanding for a short period. His, of course, to enter into a close and rapid dialogue with the housing board, so that we can restore traffic as quickly as possible, says Bernt Reitan Jenssen.

Hearing later

At a later date, there will also be an open consultation on the bus problems.

Rødt, Frp and an independent representative have, among other things, called in two former transport councilors from MDG, Lan Marie Berg and Sirin Stav.

It was during the previous city council that today’s Unibus contracts were entered into and it was decided that the buses in Oslo should be electric.

The winter’s bus chaos was caused, among other things, by charging problems for electric buses and that electric articulated buses struggled extra on slippery roads.