These days, the Ruter# company (Oslo Transport Authority) is doing very hard PR on how the new, less insane zoning system will save some people money. Good on them.
For travelers outside Oslo, commuting into the city that’s true in a lot of cases. But how about the 600.000 persons living and traveling inside the city limits? Let’s have a look at the cost increase the last 18 months:
| Ticket type | Feb 2010 price | Oct 2011 price | Percent change |
| Single adult, prepaid | 26 NOK | 28 NOK | 7,7 % |
| Single adult, paid to driver | 40 NOK | 44 NOK | 10 % |
| 8 trip coupon, adult | 190 NOK | 216 NOK* | 13,7 % |
| Student 30-day | 340 NOK | 355 NOK | 4,4 % |
| 30-day adult | 570 NOK | 590 NOK | 3,5 % |
* Denotes that the 8-trip coupon ticket is taken out of commission and fare is replaced by “Smart ticket” for 8 travels.
So, there you have it. Pretty significant price increase, specially for those who occasionally travel on public transport. The good news? Well, Ruter# introduced a new ticket, the 12 month prepaid ticket for 5.900 NOK. That’s equivalent of ten month’s travel on a normal 30-day ticket that until now cost 7.080 per year, a 16,7 % decrease in cost.
For me, however, the new ticket represent no difference in actual cost since I only use about ten months’ worth of travel anyway. Norwegians have 5+ weeks of vacation and this eats into the advantage of the 12-month ticket. A real rebate would give >25% discount and really remove any excuse to take the car instead. #firstworldproblem, I know, but still.