Ruter's owners
The management company, Ruter AS, is 60% owned by the Municipality of Oslo and 40% by the County Municipality of Viken. Ruter is in charge of planning, marketing and purchasing the municipal public transit services.
Fortunately, we can look back on a good year for public transport in Oslo and Viken after a challenging period during the pandemic. After almost two years of being discouraged from travelling by public transport, we were finally able to encourage Oslo’s residents to return to public transport by February 2022. We would like to thank everyone for their hard work, and we welcome our passengers back!
Oslo and Viken have a world-class public transport system! Year after year, Ruter and the rest of the public transport family deliver an attractive offer to our travellers, and we continue to develop new and innovative solutions and new types of tickets.
Our flexible ticket product, Reis, has been the subject of numerous tests. The Reis ticket makes it easier to combine public transport with cycling and walking. The more tickets you buy, the cheaper it is to travel – plain and simple. This lessens the burden on your wallet and the environment.
Our group discount was extended to allow one adult to bring up to four children along at no cost, after 18:00 on weekdays. The purpose of this discount is to discourage leisure trips by private cars, and to get more children and young people to travel by public transport. We began a promotional campaign at the end of 2022 to offer a 40% discount on our 30-day ticket. This was very well received by the travellers.
For me, it is very important to make public transport services available to everyone. Many new electric buses with automatic disability access ramps have been put into operation. This contributes to cleaner air, less noise, lower greenhouse gas emissions and better road safety.
We have much to look forward to in the year ahead. We have been working very hard to reach our ambitious milestone for fossil-free public transport by 2023. All public transport in Oslo will be running emission-free by then. Ruter has been influencing the market through public procurements that promote the Green Shift for many years. We are seeing the results of that now, and I am very happy about that.
Sirin Hellvin Stav (MDG), city council for the environment and transport.
Photo: Nicklas Knudsen
We were finally able to welcome residents back to public transit in 2022 after two years of the pandemic. Returning to normal life means a lot to people. Being able to choose public transport also means that there must be an offer that covers the mobility needs of the individual. Being able to maintain public transport, even with huge losses in ticket revenue due to the pandemic, has been essential for so many people to return and use public transport.
We see, however, that something has changed. Travel habits have changed, and may still be changing. Ruter shows great momentum and a high degree of competence in the work of understanding societal changes and changing our course towards the New Normal.
The fact that Ruter is now testing the flexible ticket product Reis to accommodate new travel habits will be an important lesson. It is incredibly exciting that we are rethinking prices and means of payment. This can be used both to meet the needs and wishes of our travellers, while altering prices can be a means of achieving our common societal goals.
We have an important task ahead in ensuring that all citizens are included and can participate in society on equal terms. Inclusion and equality are prerequisites for sustainable cities and communities, and for individuals to live a free and independent life.
Ruter is making an important contribution to the work to reduce inequality in society through our change project, Mind the Gap. I got to experience firsthand what it’s like to get around by public transport in a wheelchair. In this insightful work, Ruter is doing an important job of dismantling unintended obstacles that we find everywhere in society, including public transport.
Ruter has a large and important social mission in the face of pressure on public funding and other complex societal challenges. Examples of this are climate challenges, social inequality, major changes in society and people’s needs.
A common public transport system is incredibly important. We will meet the mobility needs of our inhabitants in an efficient and sustainable manner, without occupying more land and without negative consequences for the climate. This goal is more important than ever.
Olav Skinnes (Sp), county councilor for transport in Viken county municipality.
Photo: Morten Brakestad