On Monday, electric car driving came to an end in the public transport lanes in Oslo and Akershus. Anyone who sneaks in can expect a hefty fine of NOK 8,200.
Of course it stings.
It was one of the last everyday joys of electric car driving in an otherwise quite car-hostile capital.
The ban is supposed to be “temporary”, and last for three years, while the new government quarter and ring 1 are built. But, I’m guessing the ban will be permanent.
Confused? This is the story of the public transport lane rules
- Since 2003, electric cars have been able to drive in the public transport lane on the main roads towards Oslo.
- From today 6 May 2024, this scheme has been removed.
- The ban is intended to limit private car traffic to the center of Oslo and reduce the risk of traffic chaos when Ring 1 is closed due to the reconstruction of the Hammersborg Tunnel.
- From 2021, electric cars had to have passengers between 6 and 9 in order to drive in the public transport lane. The same rule also applied between 2pm and 6pm in the afternoon.
- The change of signs on the national and European roads will take place on 6 and 7 May. On the municipal road network, work starts on 6 May and will be finished by 1 June. The ban applies from the day the signs are changed.
- If you are caught in the public transport zone, without having permission to drive there, you can be fined NOK 8,200.
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This is such a privilege that we electric car drivers will not get back. And soon we’ll probably get used to it.
In a way, we have accepted that two years ago there was a tripling of the price for toll crossings with electric cars in Oslo. Or that municipal street parking became 150 per cent more expensive overnight.
But, it sucks.
Is this the reason for all the range anxiety we electric car drivers have lived with for decades?
We who were among the first to participate in this great experiment. And which became walking advertising posters for the authorities’ major investment. And who contributed to Norway being the country in the world with the largest number of electric cars per inhabitant?
Today, 90 percent of new car sales are electric cars. There are over 700,000 electric cars in Norway. It is not necessarily because everyone is so concerned about the green shift and climate change, but because electric cars are cheaper to own and drive.
Norway has had the world’s most generous electric car policy.
We got a lot for free: free toll crossings, free street parking, tax exemption and thus free access to the bus lane. All these were decoys. And we knowingly and willingly allowed ourselves to be lured.
One can understand why when Norway is among the top ten countries in the world with the most expensive petrol prices.
At the same time that until a couple of years ago we had very cheap clean energy in the form of electricity. That has been the recipe for the Norwegian electric car’s success.
Now the electric car adventure is over.
We must certainly prepare for the fact that the remaining benefits may also disappear. Such as VAT exemption on electric cars under NOK 500,000, and the low symbolic sum of NOK 455 in annual tax.
In sum, it is about making it less lucrative to drive a car.
In Oslo, it is about to become just as socially unacceptable to drive a car as it is to smoke cigarettes.
However, this does not apply in all walks of life. The rich who want to drive drive, no matter what the cost. The resourceful city-centre residents live in the heart of Oslo and can walk or cycle just about everywhere. They frown on car owners who can’t just take public transport.
The immigrants and Groruddølingers, on the other hand, love the car. I understand them well, large families, inconvenient working hours, heavy shopping bags, more illness – the car is good to have.
I bought my Nissan Leaf in 2015. I wouldn’t have been able to afford car maintenance if it wasn’t for the benefits. I was a newly divorced single mother trying to make ends meet. Every penny counted.
It was a solitaire with young children and a lot of work that would not have happened if it weren’t for the car.
I still drive the car. On a good day, it has a range of just over 100 kilometers. It has dents, the license plate has come off a bit and the bass on the music system is broken.
Hear more about the electric car and the new rules in the Giæver og gangen podcast:
But, the Leaf is valuable. It represents independence and security. The car has been a friend.
It is so important that it is about the only thing that manages to engage the immigrant population in local elections.
In 2019, the city was split in two. The rich and resourceful rallied around the MDG, and the working class and the immigrant population around the Toll Party (FNB). The latter made a landslide election in the immigrant-dense districts. In the Alna district, for example, they received 15 percent of the vote.
Despite the resistance, the transition to electric cars has been important and partly successful. The future is and should be sustainable and green. The Kingdom of Norway has sponsored the transition with oil money.
Norwegians have saved billions in taxes. There are billions in tax losses for the treasury. In addition, many billions have been spent on developing charging stations and infrastructure around the country and beach.
That electric car owners have to pay a bit more of the cake is right and reasonable. Especially now when almost all new cars on the road are electric cars. And range anxiety is soon a thing of the past. Although not for my old Leaf.
But there are still 200,000 existing cars that must be replaced annually with electric cars if Norway is to reach its ambitious climate goals. The more lures that are phased out, the more difficult it can become.
