Norway and the electric car

Considering the distances between small villages out in the countryside, the mountainous topography and the quality of some of the roads, it is odd to read that the electric car is extremely popular here and sales are on the increase. I have yet to see a public recharging station (our neighbour just used a very long electric lead draped across his garden and into the road here in Bergen) although I'm sure they exist. Maybe there's a phone app that shows where they are?

It is fair to say that the majority are driven in the larger towns, such as Oslo and Bergen and not out in the countryside, where you risk running out of battery in the middle of nowhere! Of course, they are very 'green', and the government has introduced several incentives to help you make the correct decision to buy one. For instance, you do not have to pay toll road fees (there are hundreds of toll roads and bridges here), you can park for free in public car parks, recharge for free in public spaces, travel free on the ferries (well the driver has to pay the passenger charge) and of course there are a load of tax incentives too, particularly if the car is a company car! Apparently, electric cars are also cheaper to service as there are fewer moving parts.

So far so good then, but, another advantage of driving an electric car is that you can drive in the bus lane, and that is starting to give the poor bus drivers a bit of a headache! There are so many of them now that they are starting to get in the way of the busses, delaying them on their routes, pulling sharply in front and generally acting lie irritating school children! Also, most of the cars only have one person in them, in effect, creating a higher number of vehicles on the road!

Statens vegvesen (the state traffic ministry) refuse to see it as a problem, although they actually do not have accurate figures as to how many cars are now using the bus lanes. All electric cars have a number plate starting EL so the toll reader automatically ignores them. Unofficial figures show that numbers of vehicles using the bus lane have doubled in the past year! Oops! The incentives are set to run for the next four years but I'm guessing they will have to trim back some of them before the four years are up! Wonder if that will affect sales at all?