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Focusing on Oslo’s transport network

Posted: 6 October 2007 | Peter N. Myhre, Commissioner for Environmental Affairs and Transport | No comments yet

Oslo is the capital of Norway and its largest city, with 530,000 inhabitants. With the surrounding county of Akershus, there are more than one million inhabitants. The growth in population in recent years has been large (8.1 per cent from 2000 to 2006) and higher than expected (4.4 per cent). Around 57 per cent of all employees in Oslo work within the city and in the city centre. In the last 10 years, approximately 75 per cent of new jobs have been situated within the inner city (inside Ring Road 3).

The city is surrounded by green hills (Marka) and the fjord, which together define the areas that can be developed. Today, Oslo is a green city with relatively low-rise buildings (between five and eight storeys) in the city centre. The built-up areas stretch out along three corridors from the heart of the city towards the south-west, the north-east and the south. The building zone in Oslo is bounded by the hills and the fjord, and comprises 34km2, of which 43.3 per cent is residential, while 23 per cent remains undeveloped (largely parks, green spaces, and derelict areas).

Oslo is the capital of Norway and its largest city, with 530,000 inhabitants. With the surrounding county of Akershus, there are more than one million inhabitants. The growth in population in recent years has been large (8.1 per cent from 2000 to 2006) and higher than expected (4.4 per cent). Around 57 per cent of all employees in Oslo work within the city and in the city centre. In the last 10 years, approximately 75 per cent of new jobs have been situated within the inner city (inside Ring Road 3). The city is surrounded by green hills (Marka) and the fjord, which together define the areas that can be developed. Today, Oslo is a green city with relatively low-rise buildings (between five and eight storeys) in the city centre. The built-up areas stretch out along three corridors from the heart of the city towards the south-west, the north-east and the south. The building zone in Oslo is bounded by the hills and the fjord, and comprises 34km2, of which 43.3 per cent is residential, while 23 per cent remains undeveloped (largely parks, green spaces, and derelict areas).

Oslo is the capital of Norway and its largest city, with 530,000 inhabitants. With the surrounding county of Akershus, there are more than one million inhabitants. The growth in population in recent years has been large (8.1 per cent from 2000 to 2006) and higher than expected (4.4 per cent). Around 57 per cent of all employees in Oslo work within the city and in the city centre. In the last 10 years, approximately 75 per cent of new jobs have been situated within the inner city (inside Ring Road 3).

The city is surrounded by green hills (Marka) and the fjord, which together define the areas that can be developed. Today, Oslo is a green city with relatively low-rise buildings (between five and eight storeys) in the city centre. The built-up areas stretch out along three corridors from the heart of the city towards the south-west, the north-east and the south. The building zone in Oslo is bounded by the hills and the fjord, and comprises 34km2, of which 43.3 per cent is residential, while 23 per cent remains undeveloped (largely parks, green spaces, and derelict areas).

Inner parts of the city are seeing change, and former business and industrial quarters are being transformed into housing and retail areas. There are plans in place to develop sites along the fjord as large new urban areas with a high proportion of housing. The growth in population is expected to increase by an average of one per cent per year. This growth will be seen greatest to the east of the City Centre, which is undergoing a major transformation, in Fjordbyen (the areas along the fjords) and at the major junctions. In total, space for almost 80,000 dwellings in the next 20 years has been planned or set aside. In addition, a similar growth in the number of jobs is also expected.

Good connections with Europe

Opened in 1998, Oslo’s main airport, Gardermoen, is located about 45km north of Oslo. At the time the airport was built, the railway network was improved and expanded to become double track. Now, the journey from the city centre to the airport takes 19 minutes by train. There is also a network of express buses to the airport that means the proportion using public transport to the airport is high (approximately 65-70 per cent). In 2006, 17.7 million passengers passed though Gardermoen airport, which is used more than Stockholm’s main airport at Arlanda (17.4 million). The growth in the number of flights is high. In 2005 this stood at 11.2 per cent. It is anticipated that this will increase to between 26 and 34 million passengers in 2025. This growth is almost double for flights abroad than it is for internal flights. There are frequent flights to Stockholm and Copenhagen from Oslo (15 to 20 departures daily). With a flight time of just one hour, planes are competing with trains between the same cities which take around six to seven hours and have three or four daily departures. The flight time to Brussels and London, for example, is around two hours.

Oslo is a national port with ferry connections to Denmark and Germany, as well as heavy goods transport by sea (14 million tons net from the Oslo region). Large quantities of goods to and from Oslo go by road. Goods traffic on the E6 south towards Gothenburg and Copenhagen is particularly heavy, and growth is strong. A smaller proportion of goods is transported by rail. The railway network does not have sufficient capacity to carry more goods trains on the routes to Stockholm and Gothenburg.

The road network of Oslo

Long queues of cars characterised the urban scene in Oslo in the 1980s, especially in the city centre; causing major environmental problems. In 1986, the toll ring to finance the main road network (Oslo package 1) was adopted, with 20 per cent of the package earmarked for public transport. The toll ring, which consists of 18 toll stations, brings in about NOK one billion each year. The toll stations are mostly located on entry routes and make it impossible to drive through the city without passing a toll station. The toll revenue, together with public funding, has made it possible to develop a cohesive main road network with free-flow intersections. In order to protect the environment, large parts (around ten per cent) of the main road network have been routed through tunnels. The final section opened eight years ago. The main road network consists of main entry routes in the three corridors towards Oslo, a six lane tunnel under the city centre (Fjellinjen), and Ring Road 3. The ring roads in Oslo have different functions; Ring Road 1 takes traffic away from the city centre and reduces the numbers driving through the city centre. Ring Road 2 is a distribution link road (with two and four lanes) through the inner city. Ring Road 3 is part of the main road network with four lanes, free-flow intersections and speed limits of 80km/h. This diverts the traffic from residential areas and the city.

A high-capacity main road network has made it possible to reduce traffic in residential and urban areas. The tunnels have also led to a better environment through comprehensive traffic regulation and re-routing in many urban areas, resulting in good, sustainable residential environments. The evaluation of the Oslo packages shows that the growth in traffic in Oslo is no higher than the national average. Traffic growth has largely been on the main road network, which is in line with the goal to direct traffic away from areas where people live.

Public transport is a major priority

Oslo has one of Europe’s least polluting public transport systems, usingtrack-borne transport such as trams, the underground subway, and trains. These form the backbone of Oslo’s transport system, supplemented by numerous bus routes in order to achieve best possible surface coverage.

The public transport systems in Oslo

The introduction of Oslo package 2 in 2001 for increased prioritisation of public transport (almost NOK 400 million per year in total from toll revenue and the government) together with increased funding from Oslo municipality, has led to the upgrading of large parts of the public transport system. Even though public transport was strong in Oslo, there was a need to modernise the network with new signals, power supplies, concrete structures, tracks and railway sleepers. In 2001, the cost was estimated at NOK 1.6 billion. Today, NOK 100 million remains for upgrading the underground. In addition, there is a need for new rolling stock and improved access to stations. The underground network has also been extended by a new ring (completed in 2005). Further priority has been given to improved access for buses and trams through signal prioritisation, dedicated bus lanes, electronic ticketing (in progress), bus stop upgrades, and real time information. This has paved the way for increased frequency.

In addition, the railways are being expanded with double tracks to the south-west and a similar expansion is planned for the south (towards Gothenburg), which is expected to be completed before 2020. This will also make it possible to increase the frequency of trains. Frequency and punctuality are the most important success factors for public transport. There has been a major growth in the use of public transport of around 50 million journeys a year. In the last few years (2003-2006), public transport usage has increased bysix per cent in Oslo, which means an increased market share.

More than one in three journeys use public transport and a user satisfaction survey showed that 64 per cent are satisfied with public transport provision; and this rate is increasing. Priority is being given to cyclists, where a dedicated cycle path network is almost complete and secure cycle parking at central transport junctions is also being planned.

The traffic situation today

Today, Oslo acts as a hub in the national and regional transport system. The most important transport corridors lead into and through Oslo. The main arteries into the city are the E18 from the south-west and the E6 from the south and the north-east. These have an annual average daily traffic flow (AADT) of between 75,000 and 100,000 cars. The E6 and E18 trunk roads from the south and south-west take traffic through the centre of Oslo or via Ring Road 1, Ring Road 2 or Ring Road 3. In addition, a number of roads and streets in Oslo have an AADT of between 20,000 and 50,000 vehicles. The E6 traffic from the north-east runs into, and through, the city in a tunnel system under the eastern part of the inner city until it meets the E18 underneath the centre. Just 18 per cent of car traffic now drives through the city even though a total of 60 per cent is traffic going to or from the city.

Daily commuter traffic to Oslo is heavy and is growing rapidly. Longer daily journeys to work (greater than 50km) are usually (between 50 and 70 per cent) by train and bus. Park and Ride facilities have been established at station areas along the railway in Akershus, which have contributed to an increase in the numbers using public transport.

In the last 10 to 15 years, there has been almost zero growth in the inner city. This is as a result of diverting traffic to the main road network, traffic regulation, traffic management, and prioritising public transport. The number of cars per household has not increased either, even though the number of inhabitants has increased (five per cent from 2001 – 2005). In the outer city areas, the number of cars per household has increased by just over seven per cent (2001-2005), while the growth in population has only been around four per cent in these areas.

However, it is the traffic on the main road network that has undergone the greatest growth. The new road network has led to significantly better capacity and traffic management. This has led to traffic almost doubling on the main road network after the final section was opened. However, in the last three years, the total traffic growth in Oslo has been just two per cent.

The new Oslo package has been adopted locally

As a result of the growth in traffic, the entry routes, parts of Ring 3 and E18 (Fjellinjen) under the city centre have problems with long queues in rush hour. ‘Rush hour’ itself is also starting to take longer. It is therefore a challenge to deal with the expected growth in traffic.

As a result, a new Oslo package 3 has been accepted locally which places new emphasis on the transport system. About half of the package – which amounts to around NOK 54 billion – will be used to develop the road network by building new environmental tunnels, while other funding will go to measures for expanding and running public transport services. Around NOK 39 billion of this total is toll revenue. The current toll ring will be maintained in principle, but converted to an electronic passing point. Tolls will not be time-differentiated, but the toll will rise to an average of NOK 19 from NOK 13. In addition, there will be a new payment point on the approach from the west. The whole package will be completed by 2027. Without Oslo package 3, there would only be about NOK 18 billion available for infrastructure measures.

The upgrading of public transport, which is planned over the next 20 years, will mean that public transport can carry almost twice as many passengers as it does today. The money will also contribute to increased public transport services. Thus, major growth in public transport usage is anticipated.

Local pollution to be improved

Almost 25 per cent of the population in Oslo and Akershus are exposed to levels above the national target for PM10, and 2,600 people live in areas with very high concentrations of NO2 (above the boundary values set by law). In 2005, an operational plan was adopted to improve air quality. This contained measures that have already been implemented – winter speed limits, studded tyre fees, increased road cleanliness – and proposals for new measures. Even with the anticipated high growth in traffic, the air quality will be better than it is today.

That’s because discharge per kilometre driven should go down by 50 to 70 per cent and the main reason for this is more stringent limits on vehicle exhaust emissions. The discharge of greenhouse gases in Oslo in 2003 was around 1,525 thousand tons of CO2 equivalents, of which road traffic contributed around half. There were 20 per cent more in 2003 than in 1991. Reducing these gases is a challenge. A climate management plan, which contains a package of measures, was adopted in 2005. Furthermore, new environmental tunnels that are planned (as part of Oslo package 3) will help to reduce noise problems for large numbers of people living along busy main roads.