Veolia Transport Norway
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
subsidiary of Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport is the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia Environnement...
, part of Veolia Corporation and operates through its subsidiaries buses, ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s in the counties
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
of Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
, Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
, Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
, Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
and Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag
- References :...
, primarily through the purchase of former monopolists
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. The company has 1,500 employees and operates ca 440 buses, 25 ferries/ships and 9 trams.
The company operates buses on public service obligation
Public Service Obligation
In transport, public service obligation or PSO is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy...
contracts with Oslo Sporveier
Oslo Sporveier
Kollektivtransportproduksjon AS is a municipal owned public transport operator of Oslo, Norway, the name meaning simply "public transportation producer". It operates the trackage and maintains the stock of the Oslo Metro and Oslo Tramway, as well as owning eight operating subsidiaries...
in Oslo, Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk
Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk
Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk AS or SL was the public transport administration for bus and ferry transport in Akershus, Norway from 1973 to 2007. SL was organised as a limited company owned by the Akershus county municipality, the City of Oslo, and the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications,...
in Akershus and Kolumbus
Kolumbus
Rogaland Kollektivtrafikk FKF branded Kolumbus is the public transportation administration in Rogaland, Norway and organised as a county agency. The agency is responsible for planning, marketing and organising the public transport in Rogaland, including buses and passenger ferries, but does not...
in Rogaland. The ferries operated in Rogaland, Nordland and Finnmark are with concession or on public service obligation
Public Service Obligation
In transport, public service obligation or PSO is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy...
with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is led by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa...
while the trams in Trondheim are operated on contract with the City of Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
.
History
Veolia Transport established itself in Norway in 1999 as Connex Norway and in 2003 it purchased the bus companies S.O.T. Trafikk and Sokndal Bilruter. The same year the company bought the ferry and bus operator Finnmark FylkesrederiFinnmark Fylkesrederi
Finnmark Fylkesrederi AS or FFR is a ferry and bus operator in Finnmark, Norway owned by Veolia Transport Norway. The company operates almost all public transport in the county. FFR operates 111 buses and 6 high-speed catamarans....
from the County of Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
. In 2005 the company expanded with the purchases of Gråkallbanen
Gråkallbanen
The Gråkallen Line is an suburban tram line located in Trondheim, Norway. As the only remaining part of the Trondheim Tramway, it runs from the city center at St. Olav's Gate, via the suburban area Byåsen to Lian. It is designated Line 1, and is served by nine Class 8 articulated trams...
that operates the Trondheim Tramway
Trondheim Tramway
Trondheim Tramway located in Trondheim, Norway consists presently of one 8.8 km tramway line, Gråkallbanen, from St. Olav's Gate in the city centre through Byåsen to Lian Station in Bymarka...
and Helgelandske
Helgelandske
Helgelandske is a Norwegian bus and ferry operator based in Helgeland. The company is owned by Veolia Transport Norway and operates 18 passenger- and car ferries. The company has its main office in Sandnessjøen....
that operates buses and ferries in Helgeland
Helgeland
Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. The district covers an area of about , with nearly 79,000 inhabitants...
. In 2006 the corporation also acquired the bus and ferry operator Nordtrafikk
Nordtrafikk
Nordtrafikk is a Norwegian bus, ferry, truck and ambulance operator owned by Veolia Transport Norway. The company operates bus routes in Harstad , Lofoten, Salten, Trysil and Vesterålen, ferry transport in Lofoten and Vesterålen in addition to ambulance services for Northern Norway Regional Health...
.