People in the Oslo area are more positive about road tolls

A new survey shows that people in the Oslo area were more positive about road tolls last year than in the previous year, despite new stations and a changed tariff system.

Tolls became the big battle in the municipal elections last year, and in several of the big cities the People’s Action Party for no more toll money (FNB) got political power.

In Oslo, FNB got four representatives on the city council, but one of these later became an independent.

Now, a new survey shows that Norfakta Market analysis commissioned by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration among people in Oslo and the surrounding municipalities shows that 59 percent of the population in Oslo is positive about toll money.

In 2019, a total of 50 percent of the population in the Oslo area thought the toll scheme was very positive or quite positive.

With that, attitudes in the population have changed since 2018 when 44 percent were positive about tolls. The share that is very or quite negative for tolls was 52 percent in 2018 and 45 percent in 2019.

Oslo people love the toll road ring
In 2019 new stations and a new tariff system was introduced in Oslo.

– Arild Hermstad (MDG), Acting Environment and Transport City Council, says it is positive development that people are becoming more positive about the tolls.

“It is gratifying that more and more people in Oslo like the toll road ring. Most people want cleaner air, better public transport and safer school roads, and less car traffic. It makes me optimistic when we are about to start negotiations on changes in the toll system in the Oslo region,” says Hermstad in an email to NTB, pointing out that negotiations for a new Oslo package 3 started this week.

Most negative are in Romerike and Follo
The survey also shows that 55 percent of those surveyed in the old county of Akershus are negative about tolls. Most negative are the people in Romerike with 63 percent, and in Follo with 58 percent.

– “Those most positive about the toll road are found in Oslo, Bærum and Asker, while people in Follo and at Romerike are the most negative. This may be due to the fact that toll stations were established on the city border with both, Romerike and Follo in 2019 and how good the public transport service is where you live,” says Department of Transport East of the Public Roads Administration Fred Anton Mykland in a press release.

People in the Oslo area have been more positive about tolls in previous years. Set aside from 2018, one must go all the way back to 2014 to find a year when people in the area were less positive about tolls than they were last year.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today