About the authority
The Vaelstrand Transit Authority — at home we say Vaelstran Ferdselsverk — has run every public mile of the skerries since 1 July 1957, when the city brought its tramways, harbour ferries and the Falcon Rock lift under one roof.
One city, one ticket, one tide table
Vaelstrand grew up on two shores: Ostholt, where the fish markets and the Council House stand, and Vesmyr, the low green island of market gardens across the strait. For centuries the only way across was oar and sail. When the Grand Bridge opened and the first metro tunnel bored beneath the Vael, the city decided that getting to work should not depend on which side of the water you were born on.
Today the authority carries 97.4 million journeys a year across five lines and three modes. We are publicly owned, answerable to the City Council, and funded by fares and a municipal levy. Our accounts are published each spring; our punctuality is published every quarter, whether it flatters us or not.
A short history
- 1223 — Aunik traders first record a year-round settlement at the Tallet shore; ferry rights are granted to the Fisherguild.
- 1874 — The Harbour League charters steam ferries between Ostholt and Vesmyr; the crossing takes eleven minutes if the wind agrees.
- 1889 — Horse trams begin on the quays. The horses, by all accounts, know the route better than the conductors.
- 1902 — Electric trams replace the horses; overhead wire reaches Bakkene in 1904.
- 1904 — The Falberget Lift carries gentry and herring alike up the rock in four minutes.
- 1957 — The Midsummer Ordinance merges tramways, ferries and lift into the Vaelstrand Transit Authority. First chairman: Mayor Eldrid Salm.
- 1972 — Line 1 opens: the first metro under the strait, ridden by 80,000 curious islanders on day one.
- 1989 — The old Falberget Lift closes for good; the metro takes the strain. The lift car is preserved in the Vesmyr baths museum.
- 1998 — Line 2 opens to Sunfal after six years of cliff-side boring.
- 2011 — Trams return to Vesmyr over the new Grand Bridge: Line 4 is born.
- 2024 — Four of nine ferries now run hybrid-electric; the tide itself may yet be forgiven.
How we are run
A nine-member board, appointed by the City Council of Vaelstrand for four-year terms, sets fares and strategy. Day to day, the authority is led by Director-General Maren Hollqvist and 1,412 colleagues — drivers, deckhands, engineers, cleaners, planners and the lost property team who seem to know every umbrella in the city by name. Board minutes are published at the Customer Centre and on this site within six weeks of each meeting.
Accessibility
Every station and pier built or rebuilt since 1990 is step-free. Where the island geography refuses to cooperate, we publish it plainly — and we keep a replacement taxi on standby so that step-free travel never depends on stairs.
- All metro stations have lifts from street to platform; lifts are checked each morning before first service.
- All ferries carry crew-assisted gangway boarding; Beacon Holm's pontoon accepts wheelchairs in calm water below force 4.
- Every tram in the fleet is low-floor with a folding ramp; drivers are trained to deploy it without being asked twice.
- Tactile platform edges and guidance paths are installed at Tallet, Rådplassen, Ausvarn and Fiskevarn; the remaining interchanges follow by 2028.
- Hearing loops operate at all ticket counters and on board the Vask-class ferries.
- Assistance can be booked up to two hours ahead on +87 55 214 290, or simply ask any member of staff — turning up unannounced is entirely allowed.
| Location | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tallet · Arcade level ⇄ Line 1 | In service | — |
| Tallet · Arcade level ⇄ Line 2 | In service | — |
| Rådplassen · both shafts | In service | — |
| Falberget · hill lift | Out of service | Renewal until 13 November 2026; free replacement taxi from Rådplassen, bay 4 |
| Vestkai · quay lift | In service | — |
| Sunfal · cliff lift | In service | — |
How we speak
You will hear two languages on our piers. English for everyone who arrives, and Vaeltic for everyone who stays: Gode ferder — good journeys — is our greeting, our farewell and, on the whole, our entire philosophy. Announcements are made in both, always in that order, because the sea came first.