February 9, 2017
Velkommen ombord! That’s “welcome onboard” in Norwegian. After the Global Ticketing Conference in London, one of our NYC Ferry team members decided to take a long weekend in Oslo before heading back to our home-base in New York City. After she met with the team behind Oslo’s version of the MTA, called Ruter (Translation: Routes) and the Ruter ferry operators Norled, at the London conference, she was invited to explore behind the scenes of the agency that plans, coordinates, orders and markets public transport in Oslo and Akershus.
Getting an in-depth look at the operations of the busses, trams, subways, trains and ferries showed how complex the systems are, and how important technology can be to alert riders of changes, keep all live departure times accessible, and make integration between systems efficient. Our team member got a new perspective about sales, marketing, customer service and operations from the experienced Ruter and Norled teams before climbing on-board the ferry from Aker Brygge (in the city center) to Nesoddtangen. After a week-long exploration of ticketing and communication systems at the London conference, it was enlightening to add another city’s way of tackling the challenges and opportunities of public transit to the planning our team is doing for the NYC Ferry project launching this summer.
Aker Brygge in the top right corner in the City center, Nesoddtangen is the destination on the bottom half of the map
On the ride to Nesoddtangen, which is a half-island across the Oslo Fjord approximately an hour away by car or bus, it was easy to spot the similarities between Oslo and New York’s transit deserts, where ferries become a viable option for a working waterfront to connect the city in a more efficient manner for its residents. The destination of Nesoddtangen is serviced by a 600-passenger ferry, mainly used by commuters on a daily basis, and cuts down the travel time from one hour to 20 minutes!
And guess what, they even let her ring the bell on her ferry ride!