– In kabal – VG

– I understand well that bus drivers are on strike, but it is a bit difficult to understand that they are on strike in a pandemic, says Bjarte Dyvik Haugstvedt, nurse at Haukeland Hospital, to VG.

She has four children in three different schools, all of whom often use school buses. Haugstvedt takes about half an hour to get to work. Today he had to wait for the trip so that his oldest daughter could sit down without arriving at school two hours earlier.

4,257 students living in the Bergen municipality received school transportation in August, according to the municipality. During the strike, most of these bus routes will be closed.

– Today was a bigger loner than usual. Two of the children had to walk three kilometers to school. Tomorrow we’ll see how it goes in the rain, he says.

– But employees do what we can to get down to business, and many of my colleagues left today even earlier than usual.

In addition to the drivers from Oslo and Viken, who have already gone on strike, the bus drivers from these counties went on strike since the start of the working day on Saturday: Vestland, Trøndelag, Rogaland and Finnmark. There are now 8,500 bus drivers in the country on strike.

In the last 14 days, the municipality of Bergen has registered 180 new cases of infection. After an outbreak of infection in early September, the trend has reversed and the infection has decreased in the last two weeks.

– I understand that bus drivers feel the pressure here, but maybe bus drivers should also be involved in this infection control service. They have every right to strike, but I think it’s a bit more difficult than usual, says Haugstvedt.

At the same time, it respects and understands the right to strike.

– I only hope that the pandemic ends soon, that the bus drivers receive the salary they deserve and that everyone is happy, he says with a laugh.

E claim Hansen is the executive director of Haukeland University Hospital. He says that it is not inconceivable that some employees are arriving too late in the future.

– We emphasize that there must be a close dialogue between managers and employees. But primarily employees are responsible for getting to work and managers are responsible for staffing, he says.

In addition, it points out that they have implemented measures to get employees to work and to guarantee services to patients. For employees, it encourages the use of bicycles, city bikes or electric scooters, and says parking spaces are available in collaboration with the municipality of Bergen. Approximately 12,000 people work at Helse Bergen.

– We also monitor peak hours, if this will hamper ambulance services. This morning and the weekend have gone well, most of the people have gone to work and we have staff to follow up on patients, he says.

Hansen also says that the right to strike must be respected, but points out that 25 percent of hospital employees use public transport to work every day, and then mainly the bus.

– We are affected. No doubt about that.

– Can attack until doomsday

Despite some being late at work, the morning rush in Bergen was surprisingly good.

– Now the rush is over. It exceeded all expectations, says traffic operator Ronny Sleire, in Vegtrafikksentralen to Bergens Tidende.

Expect people to continue in the same way tomorrow and the rest of the week.

VG met with the strike guards in Bergen on Monday morning, they also experienced that there was much less pressure on the remaining public transport than expected. This is especially true on the Bergen light rail, where commuters seemed to keep a good distance.

Kenneth Sveen, chief union steward for the Tide bus company in Fellesforbundet, says they got a lot of support from commuters on Monday morning.

It says that some 1,000 bus drivers in Bergen have gone on strike and that 80 percent of the township’s public transport passengers use a bus. Sure, it creates challenges for those who go to work or school, but Monday morning is a unique good time in Bergen and apart from a bit more traffic jams in the city center, the morning rush passes. No problem.

– Many areas are located so that you are dependent on a bus if you do not have a private car. Most of the school buses are closed now. That is unfortunate. After the crown and homeschooling, it is not desirable that there are more things now. It’s not something we want, she says.

At the same time, Dag Guttormsen, shop steward in Tide’s business operations, says the will to attack is great.

– We can attack until doomsday, he says.

– It is not our responsibility that people get down to work. And I think nurses and others are finding solutions to this. That is not where the challenge lies. But of course it creates problems. And we feel it. But this is part of a legal pay fight, he says, noting that members are frustrated.

Did you get this with you? Oslo City Councilor Raymond Johansen introduced new measures for the capital on Monday afternoon:

Good weather and good traffic

– I thought it was going to get worse, that it would be very crowded or that I had to go. But it went well, says Isabel Furhovde when she leaves the light rail.

Today, he feared there would be a battle for space aboard the course on the way to the University of Bergen. That was not the case.

– We probably depend a lot on buses in this municipality. Many people only have one bus as the only solution, but it works for me, he says, adding:

– While it is a challenge for many, it is a legal strike and I don’t think we should complain too much.

On the way to town, André Uland is sitting on the light rail. He has not been particularly involved in the strike, but at least he has the impression that people have gotten good at keeping their distance on public transport.

– Today there was not full capacity in the field once. This is going well, he says.

He, along with several VGs he has spoken to, is concerned about how it will go when it rains on Tuesday. Then it might not be so tempting to get on the bike.