Box 10L Traffic management in Bergen and Oslo, Norway

Bergen

Bergen, in Norway, has about 310 000 inhabitants in the region; about 216 000 people live in the city itself. Bergen was the first European city to introduce road pricing as a solution to serious traffic problems. Since the 1970s the city has been faced with congestion, accidents and noise due to local use of the motor car, but also because regional traffic was forced to cross through the city to reach other destinations. The number of victims from car accidents were continually increasing: the number of people killed per year doubled in the second half of the 1970s. Discussions took place on how to combat the problems of traffic. One of the major proposals was to build a serviceable road network to divert through-traffic from the city. However, due to necessary investments this would take 30 years to achieve. It was decided therefore to introduce a toll ring system, the proceeds from which could cover about half of the funds needed for road construction. The Bergen toll ring was opened in 1986. There are now toll gates for all the main access roads to the city. This has reduced the traffic entering Bergen. At the same time, the number of people killed in car accidents has been reduced to the level of the 1970s and continues to drop; the number of injuries has stabilised.

In connection with the introduction of the toll system, Bergen adopted a new traffic strategy in which environmental quality and safety were main objectives. Measures include: tighter restrictions on parking, restrictions on access for private cars and reductions in transport requirements in general by improved public transport and landuse planning. An important element is the building of tunnels, which will divert 25 000 vehicles per day of the total 65 000 now entering through the toll ring into the city. Noise measurements in 1991 indicate that about 20 000 dwellings were exposed to a noise level of 60 dB(A) or more; 40 000 persons were disturbed by noise, of which 18 000 were seriously disturbed. Due to the traffic strategy, it is planned that the number of persons exposed to a noise level of 60 dB(A) will be reduced by 50 per cent before the year 2010, when it is planned that there will be no dwellings with an interior noise level of more than 35 dB(A).

Oslo

The Oslo conurbation has approximately 680 000 inhabitants, and 467 000 live in the city. In 1990, Oslo followed the Bergen example to introduce road pricing, after ten years of public debate between professionals and politicians over the advantages and disadvantages of a toll system. The discussions focused on whether it was right to make people pay for the toll and whether money could be raised in a more cost-effective way through alternative systems (for instance by increasing the yearly tax for all car owners or by increasing taxes on petrol). In 1990, 19 stations were installed, 3 to 8 km from the city centre, so that it was possible to drive into the inner city by paying a fee. Approximately 210 000 cars pass every day (towards the city) which amounts to 40 per cent of all car trips in the Oslo region. Since the introduction of the toll ring the number of cars entering the city has been reduced by 3.5 per cent. The toll ring has led to a slight increase in the share of public transport: the increase in trips crossing the toll ring is estimated to be 10 per cent. People also travel less in general because the new toll system.