NORDIC INNOVATIONS: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BUS MOBILITY

Asked why the Nordic countries are more successful at getting even the most demanding drivers to switch to public transport, Anna Grönlund, deputy managing director of the Swedish Bus & Coach Federation, is self-critical: “I wouldn’t say that at all. We’re doing very well in cities but still have a lot to learn in rural areas.”

Johan C. Haveland, CEO of Asistobe says: “It’s not that our public transport is better. We do however make it more difficult for people to take the car.” In Norway, introducing toll roads and removing parking zones has been a success. Nevertheless, the speakers taking part in the BUS2BUS Nordic Roadshow agree that in order to get more car drivers to switch, one still needs attractive public transport. It is hoped that AI and open data will help.

Gerhard Wennerström, Managing Director of Samtrafiken, sees a further issue: “We need standardised products to make it easier for people to know what they are getting. Instead of basing fare prices on a single trip from A to B, a subscription of the kind Spotify offers might work in order to make services easy to understand and more accessible. We have to rid ourselves of the concept of everyone having a car, says Wennerström. In Norway many people even have two to three cars. “Young people think driving an electric car is more eco-friendly than public transport. That is a dangerous trend“, says Johan C. Haveland.

Find out more about why in Sweden over 85 per cent of buses and coaches operate without fossil fuels, why the Swedish Bus & Coach Federation is frustrated by the resistance of other European countries to biofuels and biodiesel, and why the large companies in Silicon Valley don’t want to sell their data to Europe.

You can watch the entire BUS2BUS Digital Roadshow from the Nordic countries here.

Speakers:
Anna Grönlund – Deputy Managing Director, The Swedish Bus & Coach Federation/ Sveriges Bussföretag
Agnieszka Skóra – Business Development Manager, Kempower
Johan C. Haveland – CEO, Asistobe
Gerhard Wennerström – Managing Director, Samtrafiken

Moderator:
Mikko Koskue – Counsellor – Trade and Investment, Embassy of Finland in Berlin

Hosts:
BUS2BUS Team and International Representatives of Messe Berlin:
Willow Beck-Jewett – Project Manager – BUS2BUS Messe Berlin GmbH

International representatives of Messe Berlin:
Saija Taattola – Messuille Oy – Finland
Jan Heymanns – German-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce – Norway
Moa Zeidlitz – German-Swedish Chamber of Commerce – Sweden