FØROYAR AV NÝGGJUM 2009

Back to the Faroe Islands again - a 2009 update

 

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Five years since my last visit in 2004.  Now it is August 2009, and I am on my way to Tórshavn, one of my favourite cities.  Once again I arrive and depart with the Faroese flag carrier, Atlantic Airways, flying from London Stansted direct to Vágur.  Friendly service, free snacks and drinks and smiling stewardesses!  My accommodation on this visit is at the newly opened Hotel Streym, where I am made very welcome.  The hotel is reasonably priced and is conveniently situated along the seafront in Yviri viđ Strond, just a few minutes walk from the main Tórshavn bus and ferry terminal at Farstøðin.

The principal change has been the opening of the 6.5 kilometers long under sea road tunnel from Leirvik to Klaksvik in April 2006, linking the islands of Eysturoy and Borđoy, and allowing the through operation of the route 400 buses from the capital Tórshavn to the second largest town, Klaksvik.  So ferry Dúgvan no longer sails its traditional scenic route from Leirvik, but the through bus journey now only takes an hour and a half.

Bygdaleiðir

What changes did I find?  Some routes had changed hands between operators of course.  There were many new Volvos, and it seemed that few of the vehicles I had seen five years ago were still around.  Many operators have buses with personalised registrations.  The Saksun route is no more, and bus services on the southernmost island of Suđuroy have been simplified.  Indeed the ferry to Suđuroy is now worked by an even larger newer Smyril, the fifth ship to bear the name, and introduced in October 2004 to the important two hour crossing.

Through talking with several of the Bygdaleiđir drivers some of their hours of work seemed long by UK standards.  One driver suggested there was no comparable legislation on drivers permitted hours in the Faroe Islands, and that working days of 12 to 13 hours overall duration are not uncommon.  As example, on Sandoy a driver on the 600 route told me he does the entire public service from start to finish in week one (a fourteen hour day), then in the second week does only school runs (a six hour day).  This results in 12 consecutive days work followed by 9 days rest to complete a three week cycle.

The main trunk route 400 from Tórshavn to Klaksvik is now operated by HZ Bussar of Streymnes, with four Volvo 9700s (KH 442, UP 705, KE 401 and VS 766) providing the base service of eleven journeys each way (five each way on Saturday and Sunday).  The main service is provided by three Klaksvik-based vehicles and one based in Tórshavn. This is a busy route from the capital to the second largest town, and it provides a range of bus connections as under:

  •      at Oyrarbakki to route 200 to Eiđi, route 201 to Gjógv, route 202 to Tjørnuvik and route 205 to Funningur;
  •      at Skálabotnur to route 480 to Strendur and route 481 to Oyndarfjørđur;
  •      at Søldarfjørđur to route 440 to Runavik and Toftir;
  •      at Gøtudalur to route 410 to Fuglafjørđur;
  •      at Klaksvik to route 500 to Viđareiđi and route 504 to Kunoy (also the ferry 'Sam' to Kalsoy).

A variety of different sized vehicles work on the feeder routes, full-sized, midi and mini.  For example the 480, run by Højbilar of Strendur, was covered by Iveco Daily EU 746 or Mercedes 815 D20-seater DM 519.  The 440 was being worked by Mercedes 20-seater JL 394 of J O Langgaard of Søldarfjørđur, whilst the 410 had a Volvo B12 of A P Busskoyring (Andreas Poulsen) of Syđrugøta, registered AP 616.   In Klaksvik, AP 554, a Renault Master 17-seater from the same operator was working the 500 to Viđareiđi.

Jón Thomasen of Kvivik operates the 100 from Tórshavn to Vestmanna; the 101 to Kirkjubøur and Gamlarætt for the Sandoy ferry; and the busy 300 to the Airport and the townships on the island of Vágur (reached by tunnel).  There is some interworking of routes, eg a 300 arriving in Tórshavn from the Airport will go on as a 101 to Gammlarætt.  This raises an interesting question though. As there do not appear to be any spare Thomasen vehicles or drivers in Tórshavn, what would happen if the inbound 300 was delayed awaiting a flight at Vágur, given that the 101 in turn gives connection at Gammlarætt to Teistin on the Sandoy ferry! Again more smart Volvo 9700s, including TF 505, JU 330, DP 232 and LK 694.

These are just a few examples of some dozen or more sub-contractors who provide vehicles for the Bygdaleiđir timetabled bus network on behalf of SSL - Strandfaraskip Landsins.  There are also many other operators based throughout the islands concentrating on charters and excursions, including also several minibuses operated by taxi firms and providing a shuttle service to and from the airport.

Published figures for the Bygdaleiđir buses show that in 2008 566,560 passengers were conveyed overall (down from 604,525 in 2007 but almost identical to the 2005 figure of 566,748).  The highest number of passengers recorded is unsurprisingly for route 400 (2008 = 149,874).  Second busiest is route 300 serving the airport with a 2008 figure of 85,946, followed as a close third by routes 440 and 480 (joint figure 82,901).  The lowest figure is for route 504 from Klaksvik to Kunoy with just 869 passengers for the year, down by a half from the 2006 figure of 1,647.

 

  line up at terminal in Torshavn

Farstøđin terminal in Tórshavn on a summer Saturday morning - a fine line up of Volvos!


Bussleiðin

It was the 30th anniversary of the town buses on 8th July, 1979 to 2009.  There were fewer changes noted in Tórshavn than with Bygdaleiđir.  Circular routes 1, 2 and 3 had each been increased in frequency from half hourly to twenty minute headway in February 2008 (hourly evenings, Saturdays and Sundays), necessitating a weekday run-out of nine vehicles. The intent was to reduce car use, but I'm not sure that was totally successful, although the two year old free fares policy has seen a modest increase in the number of passengers.  A further change occurred from 1st August 2009 when Bussleiđin service was eliminated altogether on Sundays and after 1400 hours on Saturdays.

The longer 'outer suburban' routes 4 and 5 to Køllafjorður and Kaldbak are combined in operation on Saturdays.  Route 4 actually reaches out some 22 kilometers into the countryside, but still within the boundaries of the expanded Tórshavn municipality (which now also includes the island of Nolsoy).  One vehicle observed on service 4 was an older red-liveried Volvo B12 registered FD200 (not low floor, and also seen in 2004). 

A reminder of the Bussleiðin routes:

1    Hamarin - Steinatun - Gundadalur - Handilsskúlin - Steinatun - SMS - Steinatun - Hamarin (Mouritsens Bussar)

2    Argir - Steinatun - Eysturskúlin - Hvitanes - Inni á Gøtu - Steinatun - Argir (Mouritsens Bussar)

3    Norðasta Horn - Steinatun - Millum Gilja - Løgmannabreyt - Eysturskúlin - Steinatun - Norðasta Horn (Mouritsens Bussar)

4    Farstøðin - Signabøur - Køllafjorður  (Gunnurs Bussar, Signabøur)

5    Farstøðin - Kaldbak  (Gunnurs Bussar, Signabøur)

Steinatun is the town centre timing and transfer point, whilst Farstøðin is the ferry and country bus terminal.  Routes 2 and 3 run to time usually, route 1 is frequently a few minutes late, having more demanding circuits to accomplish on each hourly cycle.

This is a typical day's run out for Mouritsens Bussar on routes 1, 2 and 3, observed on an August Friday lunchtime in 2009 at Steinatun:

Route 1:    NV 851    JL 757    MB 831
Route 2:    MB 255    MB 580   MB 047
Route 3:    MB 429    MB 069    MB 617

All are Volvos except for a single Scania NV 851. 

MB 069 / 580 / 617 / 831 are Volvo B10/Aabenraa bodied buses, ex-Odense Bytrafik, Denmark, arriving in Tórshavn in late 2007 or early 2008.

NV 851, JL 757, MB 255, MB 047 and MB 429 were all noted on my previous visit in 2004, as also MB 181, parked as a spare in the operator's yard.

In 2007 the Tórshavn municipality had introduced a free fares policy on the city buses. Originally meant as a trial, it was a success and was continued.  But there is a somewhat odd effect from the free fares policy in that virtually no-one talks to the driver, there being no need of communication with no ticket needing to be bought! The occasional passenger may say hello - but that seemed to be the exception - and most of the time the drivers appeared to be talking to their friends on their mobile phones, through hands-free earpieces I hasten to add.  (As an aside, talking of mobile phones, I received a call from England whilst in the middle of the undersea Leirvik to Klaksvik tunnel.  Two way conversation was perfectly clear throughout the tunnel.  What a contrast to home where the mobile signal is totally lost in a rail tunnel of even a few hundred yards length)!

Steinatun in mid-town Torshavn

Town and country buses at Steinatun in central Tórshavn. Bygdaleiđir route 101 is working in from Gamlaraett with Jon Thomasen's Volvo DP 232. 


Lastly. to conclude. some official figures on the number of vehicles in the Faroe Islands, as at 1st January 2008.  There were 232 buses and 109 taxis, of which 114 buses and 71 taxis were based on the main island of Streymoy.  In comparison there were 20225 cars, 9609 of which were on Streymoy.

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This is a link to the Tórshavn Kommuna website for current Bussleiðin timetables

This is a link to Bussleiðin information for the period 1992 - 2003

This is a link to Bygdaleiðir information for the period 1992 - 2003

This is a link to the SSL website for current Bygdaleiðir timetables

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