Why politicians have no idea

As a petrolhead myself, I am often disgusted at what the policymakers come up with to punish car drivers in Bergen.

As I browse through the newspapers, I cannot feel but to be threatened by what those politicians are capable of coming up with to terrorise us motorists.


Cars outside Bygarasjen. This parking house with capacity of
 2265 cars might be demolished. Photo from Byavisen

Increasing the road tolls? Demolishing the Byparken? Banning cars from the city centre altogether? Reducing speed limits? etc.etc...

Actually, its not a matter of IF, its simply a matter of WHEN such acts of terror will take place, to stop all motorists in their tracks.

Please, anybody with the brain power greater than that of a 5 year old can see what would happen if such thing comes to reality-in a city that is growing and expanding as we speak.

Before all you treehuggers out there start flogging me with your bio-degradable straps or whatever you use as belts, (since you undoubtedly are also against the leather industry), you should read on;

The reality is, that the Norwegian government cannot manage without car drivers; the annual taxes placed on cars constitute a great part of the nation's tax income (of course, oil exports and their high taxation also constitute a great revenue source...). According to Statistics Norway, there were 2.78 million cars registered in Norway at the end of 2011, with 2.37 million being passenger cars. That's almost one car for every 2 people in Norway, and almost 40% of all households own 2 or more cars!!  The annual road tax for passenger cars are between 2800 NOK and 3300 NOK, depending on the type of fuel used and whether or not the vehicle is equipped with a particle filter (applies for diesels).

For argument's sake, lets say its 3000 NOK. Multiply that by 2.37 million and you get...well, a great sum of money, somewhere in the scope of trillions of korners. Each year. Every year.
Wait, it doesn't stop there. Think about the taxes we have to pay when we change vehicle ownership, when we pay for fuel, the road charges, traffic fines etc etc...
If those tax revenues dissapeared overnight, what do you think will happen to this country?

I am uncertain as to how those taxes from vehicles are spent, so if anybody could clarify me, I would appreciate it. My guess is, that such money are used to fund schools, the healthcare system, and welfare for the unemployed and the unemployable. In short, this socialistic paradice would be no more. The schools will no longer be free, the universal healthcare scrapped (which, may actually do good to reduce patient waiting times from the current several months to...several weeks perhaps?) The unemployed will need to find other means to get their money, and the luxrious prisons offered to criminals will become just like, eh, prison.

So, dear politicians of Norway, I ask you this.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH US? We are not your farm animals; stop making our lives more miserable. You cannot force us to give up our cars. That would be communism, and we all know that communism is bad for our healths.

So what to do?
The goal is to reduce the number of cars in the city centre. Right now, here is what the politicians are coming up with;
1. Increasing the toll charge from 15 kroners to 25 kroners per passing for passenger cars (comes into effect in 2013)
2. Banning diesel cars on days with bad air quality (under consideration)
3. Alternate driving days basend on the last digit of the licence plate (under consideration)
4. Demolishing the Bygarasjen (under consideration)
5. Closure of Olav Kyrres Gate (took effect in September 2012)

Do you see the problem? It is just like the Æsop's tale "The North Wind and the Sun". If governments force people to change their habits, this creates conflict-i.e. policy resistance.

Take number 1 for example. The toll charge will go up from 15 kroners to 25 kroners next year. I know for certain that this will only have minimal effect. Maybe it will reduce traffic by 3%. This is only being done because the city wants to put vacuum cleaners in our pockets in order to suck out every remaining øre we have. And for what? I, like everybody else, want to get from A to B in the most comfortable, economical and quickest way possible. Current public transport in Bergen is expensive, slow and from my viewpoint, very ineffective. Thus, I know that I won't give up my car just because of increased toll charge. There are ways around the toll system, and people will just take the routes which are toll-free.

The number 2 is aimed to reduce the nasty smog in Danmarksplass. The air there is filthy on winter days when there is no wind movement. Most of the smog is from the exhaust of cars; and the smog contains nitrogen dioxide, which makes it harmful to human health. Most health complaints come from people who work or live in the area (surely it is possible for those people complaining to find work outside of the city or live in the countryside??). But wait a moment! Wasn't the government encouraging people to buy diesel cars? Yes, they have better fuel economy. Yes, they emmit less CO2 than petrol equivalents. But the governemnt overlooked the existence of nitrogen dioxide, and now want to ban diesels on winter days. Poor people who bought diesels thinking they were saving the environment. Another example of epic policy fail.

I guess number 3 became most famous during the Beijing Olympics when cars with even number on the last digit of their licence plate were allowed to drive on some days, and cars with odd numbers on other days. This logic is easy enough; it immediately reduces the number of cars in half. But this workes well in China because they have such powerful network of police systems which can enforce the law. In Bergen, police are so underfunded to the extent that their cars are not even issued with GPS so they won't be able to increase their capacity any further. Then the city would have to rely on London-styled surveillence camera grids, which of course is a waste of money for such a small city like Bergen.  Do the politicians think successful implementation will be achieved this way? This has not been implemented so far. Let's keep it that way.

The Bygarasjen in question in number 4, for those that do not know, is the largest parking house in the city with a capacity of 2265 cars and is open 24 hours daily. It is not the prettiest building in the city, but it sure is functional. Its located conveniently close to the city centre, within walking distance to everything, and it combines a large shopping mall. To demolish this and replace it with nothing is just plain foolish. If anything, they should be increasing the capacity by building additional floors and creating basement floors. This topic regarding the Bygarasjen seems such a taboo here that everybody is afraid to even speak of it. Come on people, the city is expanding further and further into the surburbs, more people are working in the city, and those people have to commute every day. It only makes sence to make it easy and convenient for them so that they can engage in economical activities instead of being stuck in city traffic for half a day looking for a place to park.

As for number 5, the closure of Olav Kyrres Gate street, I have written a separate article about it, so please reffer to New policy will lead to 10 million litres of wasted fuel

So all the existing policies or policy ideas are unrealistic. I can think of a dozen better solutions, some are shown below. Hopefully, some policy maker will see it and there will be changes for the better...

Suggested solutions

1. Private collective transport (car pooling)
The private transport and collective transport seem worlds apart, (eg. passenger cars VS busses) but it is possible to combine them. Here's how:
Set up a large parking lot (possibly underground to save space) just outside the city automatic toll booths where everyone can park for free. Right outside, set up a waiting area, similar to a bus shelter. They are divided into several sections, based on which area of the city the person wants to travel to. Other car drivers participating in the "private collective transport" scheme will pull over to let the people travelling in the same direction into their cars.

The incentive for car drivers to take strangers? Each time they go through with the "private collective transport", they have the toll charge added, not deducted, from their autopass account. For the safety of the people catching rides, drivers who choose to participate in this scheme will need to have a background check to make sure only safe drivers are taking passengers. For the people catching rides, it will be free every time, and for the drivers going into the city, it is an opportunity to make their autopass account last a bit longer.

What if you decide to go drinking with your colleagues after work and end up leaving town late? Don't worry, there will be minibusses operated by the municipality to take people from city centre to the parking place where they left their cars. The funding for such a schme can come from the intake of road charges, since there will always be people driving into the city without participating in these schemes, there will be constant sources of funding. If the fundings are lacking, this is where the oil money should be spent! If the government really wants to reduce the number of cars in the city, they should be prepared to make a drastic action such as this one.

2. Lower the price of collective transport
The main reason why people still choose to drive to town is because it is cheaper. It costs 27 kroners per person one way on the Bybanen (Bergen light rail). That's 54 kroners both ways!! The cost by car, on the other hand is roughly half that, including the toll charge. In my case, I park for free but even if you pay for a couple of hours parking, it pays to go by car if you are travelling with 2 people or more. Montly cards for skyss are also much too expensive, even at student price. 400 kroners per month!? Since I don't go to town every day, I choose to drive there thank you very much.

The only way I would resort to collective transport is if the prices are cheaper. In Beijing and Kyiv (Ukraine), prices of bus rides cost only 1kr!! Sure, people there don't make as much but consider this. An average salary in Kyiv is approximately 4000 UAH, roughly 3000 kroners. People in Bergen make around 10 times that. But do the bus/tram tickets cost 10 kroners? No!

So how is it possible in Ukraine and China? Subsidies, of course!

Here's the problem. The oil money (which, supposedly belongs to the people) should be used for such purposes instead of just pooling it. Out of the 27 kroners, at least 75% should be government subsidised. If the price of the ticket was 7 kroners, would I travel by tram /bus? in a heartbeat.
After all, we are all cheapskates in the end, aren't we?



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