Our 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.
“2020 is the year when the whole world was put to the test. For Oslo’s public transport passengers, the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced us to ask a paradoxical message; that we ask people to avoid using public transport unless they really need to. This puts both the economy of public transport to the test, but it also reduces Oslo’s ability to meet climate and traffic goals.
I am impressed with Ruter, which has handled the situation well and kept the public transport services going as a socially critical infrastructure. Going forward, I hope that we are able to see the opportunities that this crisis brings, and how the pandemic can strengthen the Green Shift, reduce people’s transport needs and develop more climate-friendly transport solutions.
Eco-friendly and climate-friendly means of travel such as walking, cycling and public transport will be the first choice of the region’s inhabitants. We want to find new solutions that increase mobility. In this work, it is good to have an offensive public transport company like Ruter on the team.”
“2020 was not your ordinary. That is also true for public transport. We had to ask public transport passengers to use our services as little as possible. Ruter suffered large revenue losses as a result of dramatically reduced ticket income. In this situation, Ruter has taken social responsibility and helped to keep important social functions going. Public transport services have been maintained so people with socially critical jobs can get to work, and pupils and students can get to school. Ruter has also used a lot of time and money on infection control within public transport, during the changing infection control levels during the pandemic. I want to pay tribute to all the employees, drivers and vehicle operators at Ruter for a formidable effort in a demanding year.
But we must also look to the future. We must be well prepared so we can rig public transport for the needs of the future and reduce greenhouse emissions. This means adapting our services to real mobility needs, and continuing the ambitious work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in public transport. The road and transport sector is the largest source of emissions in Viken; a good public transport service is crucial to getting people to leave their cars at home. The company is well on its way to replacing fossil fuels in 2020, on its way to emission-free transport in 2028. I am very happy about that.
I would also like to highlight Ruter’s work to further develop digital solutions, which make it easier and faster for public transport passengers to plan their journey and buy a ticket. Ruter is a forward-looking company, and we try to see the future so we can be as relevant as possible for the mobility needs of our inhabitants. This is exciting and important work that I will monitor closely.”
