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Oslo to partially lift local Covid-19 restrictions

Norwegian capital Oslo is to lift some of its long-standing coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday February 3rd.

Published: 1 February 2021 17:25 CET

Oslo to partially lift local Covid-19 restrictions

Schools, kindergartens and upper secondary schools in Oslo will on Wednesday move to the "amber" level. AFP

Schools, kindergartens and upper secondary schools in Oslo will on Wednesday move to the “amber” level of the national traffic light model for safety and distancing protocols at schools.

Bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen, but a ban on serving alcohol will remain in place.

The city’s mayor, Raymond Johansen, said on Monday that there is now “space to start a gradual and controlled reopening of Oslo”, media including broadcaster NRK reported.

The Norwegian capital has had local restrictions in place for months and was recently put under even tighter restrictions by the central government, due to the detection of a more infectious variant of Covid-19 in the region. A gradual easing of the tighter restrictions was signalled by health minister Bent Høie on Saturday.

READ ALSO: ‘This situation is really demanding for a lot of people’: Oslo residents on living with social lockdown

The updated restrictions, which will take effect from Wednesday February 3rd, are as follows:

“Amber” level of the national traffic light model for safety and distancing protocols at schools, kindergartens and upper secondary schools. Universities to remain at ‘red’ level.
Children and young people under 20 may participate in organised leisure and sports
Libraries allowed to open
Shops can open, but malls and department stores must remain closed
Bars, cafes and restaurants can reopen, but the ban on serving alcohol will remain in place
Organised facilities allowed to operate under more ordinary rules for children up to upper secondary school age [fritidsklubbene in Norwegian, ed.]. Indoor activities for older age groups will remain closed, however.

READ ALSO: Restrictions in Oslo and surrounding areas to gradually ease

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Everything you need to know about Oslo's public transport network

Being the Norwegian capital, it’s no surprise that Oslo has a robust public transport network. You can use a public transport ticket for everything from ferries and buses to trams and trains.

One company, Ruter, handles public transport for the city and the surrounding Akershus area.

Thankfully, you’ll only need a single app or travel card to get around the city. This applies to the different forms of public transport, too. You can go from a bus to a tram to a ferry without having to use a different app or purchase a different kind of ticket.

The Ruter app is the only place to buy tickets digitally, and it is available in English. This app also has integrated map features so you can find the best way to get where you need to be and what zones your ticket will cover.

When it comes to the zones themselves, there are five. The cost of a ticket increases as you travel across zones. However, the main thing to know is that zone one covers the entirety of Oslo itself, and the other zones extend into the surrounding areas of Oslo.

Furthermore, some sections of the public transport network, such as the metro, only operate in zone one, so you don’t need to worry when buying tickets.

Tickets

Ruter offers tickets for single journeys, 24 hours, a week, 30 days, or a year. For those commuting inside and out of Oslo, you can add additional zones to the ticket.

The single ticket currently costs 42 kroner for an adult travelling in one zone . There is a flexible scheme currently in place which makes single tickets cheaper the more frequently you buy them.

This discount resets every 30 days. There are also discounts for children, pensioners, and those in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

A single ticket is valid for 60 minutes and allows unlimited transfers. The ticket duration is extended for every extra zone one travels through. For example, this is handy if you are taking a regional train from the airport to the city centre.

Meanwhile, a 24-hour ticket costs 127 kroner, a monthly ticket is 897 kroner (but will soon be reduced), and an annual ticket is 8,996 kroner. The longer the duration of the ticket, the more money you will save.

Those caught travelling without a ticket will typically be fined 1,470 kroner, or 1,200 kroner if the fine is paid on the spot.

The different transport options

There are two kinds of buses in Oslo: the red ones that operate solely in the city and the green ones that shuttle people in and out of the greater Oslo region.

You can get on the red buses at any of the doors, and some of the green ones need you to show your ticket at the front door.

Buses don’t operate 24/7. However, some of the most important routes will have a nighttime schedule.

There are also six tram lines in Oslo, with around 99 stops and 130,000 daily passengers. The trams are suitable for those with mobility issues as the doors open at pavement level. Most lines remain within Oslo, but line 13 ends in Bekkestua in Bærum, one of the municipalities that borders Oslo.

Oslo’s metro, or T-bane, is popular with both commuters and leisure travellers. There are five metro lines, and all lines converge in the city centre via a shared tunnel. The metro line is particularly good at connecting the city to its forested areas, with plenty of hikes and trails branching off from metro stops.

Passenger ferries connect the city to the islands in the Oslofjord. These ferries are a stone’s throw from Oslo town hall at Aker Brygge. There are also commuter ferries connecting Oslo and towns like Nessoden and Drøbak.

Several commuter train lines exist in Norway. In recent years, these have been plagued by punctuality issues.

Regional trains in Norway carry the R designation (the R11, for example), and you can use Ruter tickets for this. An example is using a Ruter ticket to take the cheaper regional trains from the airport to Oslo rather than the express service.

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