Oslo Public Transport

"Oslo Transport

Air

* Oslo Airport, Gardermoen (in Akershus county) - Scandinavia's second largest and fastest growing airport, served by high speed train (Flytoget)
* Sandefjord Airport, Torp (in Vestfold county about two hours, or 115 km/71 mi away)
* Moss Airport, Rygge (In Østfold county, 65 km/40 mi away)

Sea

There are daily ferry connections to Kiel (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Frederikshavn (Denmark) and Nesodden.

Public ferries run daily to and from the islands scattered in the Oslo harbour basin.

Train

Oslo Sentralstasjon is the main railway station in Oslo. From there, there are connections in the directions of: Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, Stockholm (Sweden), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark). In 2004 Norwegian trains were Europe's third most punctual national train company. For the 4 first months in 2005 the punctuality was 92.9%. During winter in particular, weather conditions such as snow and blizzards may cause delays and cancellations on the routes crossing the central mountains.

Public transport

The public transportation system in Oslo is managed by the municipal transport company Ruter. This includes metro, tram, bus and ferry, but not the local train lines, which are operated by the state railway company NSB. All public transport in Oslo, including local trains, operates on a common ticket system, allowing free transfer within a period of one hour with a regular ticket. Tickets also transfer to the local and inter-city trains, unless you intend to cross the city border. In 2004, 160 million journeys were made using public transport, of which 85% was handled by Oslo Sporveier's own subsidiaries and 15% by private bus and ferry operators under cost-based contracts.

The tram system, Oslotrikken, is made up of six lines that criss-cross the inner parts of the city and extend out towards the suburbs. Trams partly run on in the streets and partly on separate roads. The metro system, known as the T-bane, connects the eastern and western suburbs and comprises six lines which all converge in a tunnel beneath downtown Oslo. The metro lines are identified by numbers from 1 to 6, with two lines running into the municipality of Bærum in the west. The tramway lines are numbered 11 to 13 and 17 to 19.

A new, partially underground loop line was opened in August 2006, connecting Ullevål in the north-west and Carl Berners plass in the east. Two new stations, Nydalen and Storo, have been operational for a couple of years already, the third station, Sinsen, opened 20 August 2006. This completed the loop. In conjunction with the opening of the circle line, there will be a major upgrade of the rolling stock, with delivery taking place between 2007 and 2010. An RFID ticketing system with automatic turnstile barriers has been under introduction for several years, but has been heavily delayed and is not yet in service.

A public bicycle rental programme has been in operation from April every year since 2002. With an electronic subscription card, users can access bikes from over 90 stations across the city.

Road

As Norway's capital and biggest city several national highways meet or passes through Oslo. European route E6 runs through Oslo in the eastern suburbs on its way from Southern Sweden to Northern Norway. European route E18 runs through downtown Oslo (including a tunnel under Akershus festning) on its way from Stavanger and Kristiansand to Stockholm. European route E16 from Bergen doesn't go into Oslo proper, but ends on E18 at Sandvika a few kilometers west of Oslo. Oslo also has a system of "ring roads" connecting east and west. Ring 3 is the outer one running from the E6 junction in the east via Ullevål to E18 on the border to Bærum municipality in the west. Ring 2 runs from Gamlebyen in the east to E18 at Skøyen in the west. Ring 1 is the downtown "through road". The ring roads make navigation easier and improve trafic flow. E18, E6, Ring 2 and Ring 3 are connected by an elaborate system of tunnels and bridges in the Økern-Ekeberg area. At present (2008) a new underwater tunnel for E18 is constructed in Bjørvika to divert traffic from the street level.

Access into the city centre requires the payment of a toll at one of 19 entry points around the ring road. It costs 25 NOK to enter the cordoned zone at all times of day, seven days a week. A 20% price reduction is avaliable to car owners using the AutoPASS-system. Since 2 February 2008 coins are no longer accepted at the Toll Station, and all cars must pass through the automatic lanes without stopping. If you are fitted with the electronic AutoPASS system then you will be debited as you pass, all other drivers will receive an invoice in the mail.

Initially revenues from the road tolls funded the public road network, but since 2002 it mainly finances new developments for the public transport system in Oslo. There has been discussion whether to continue to use the cordon after 2007, based on the funding decisions, extensions, accommodation of time-differentiated pricing or replaced by another form of pricing altogether, perhaps to make congestion pricing possible."