Strætó bs

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Strætó bs

A bus in Reykjavík
Founded	1 July 2001
Headquarters	Hestháls 14, 110 Reykjavík, Iceland
Locale	Iceland
Service area	Iceland
Service type	Bus transport network
Routes	55
Fleet	109
Fuel type	Diesel, hydrogen, natural gas
Chief executive	Jóhannes Svavar Rúnarsson
Website	straeto.is (in Icelandic)

Strætó bs (Icelandic pronunciation: ​[ˈstraiːtou]) is a public transport company which operates city buses in the Icelandic capital, Reykjavík, and surrounding satellite towns and suburbs. The buses are bright yellow and are commonly called "Strætó" by the locals, a shortened nickname for "strætisvagn" (urban bus, literally "street carriage"). Strætó bs started operations on 1 July 2001 with the merger of SVR (Strætisvagnar Reykjavíkur) and AV (Almenningsvagnar). SVR previously operated in Reykjavík and nearby satellites in the northern part of the Capital Region, while AV covered the southern part of the region. Strætó bs is owned and run by the seven municipalities in the region: Reykjavík, Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær, Seltjarnarnes and Álftanes.

Bus network[]

Most buses run at about 15-minute intervals during peak hours on weekdays and in 30-minute intervals during off-peak hours and weekends. There are 30 routes, 6 of which are trunk routes (red routes 1–6) that run between the main terminal at Hlemmur and the various residential neighbourhoods on the city's outskirts; these use the main traffic arteries and are thus the fastest routes available. Nine of the routes are general routes (green routes 11–19) that also stop at Hlemmur terminal but go deeper into the different neighborhoods on slower streets. The remaining 15 routes are neighborhood routes (blue routes 21–24, 26–28 and 33–35) that run within or between the suburbs and do not stop in downtown Reykjavík. Bus routes 51, 52, 57, 71, 72, 73 are long-distance routes that run to towns in Vesturland (West Iceland) and Suðurland (South Iceland).

The buses operate from nine terminals in the Capital Region. The main terminals are Hlemmur and Lækjartorg in downtown Reykjavík; the others are at Hamraborg in Kópavogur, Fjörður in Hafnarfjörður, Ásgarður in Garðabær, Ártún, Mjódd, Spöngin in Reykjavík and Háholt in Mosfellsbær. All of these main bus terminals are served by at least one red (trunk) route.

Route overview[]

Notes:

• Route does not start until noon on Sundays
• Route frequency is reduced on weekends and in the evenings, as well during summertime.
• Route 23: Taxi services on late evenings and Sundays.
• Route 33/34 are circle lines. 33 runs clockwise, 34 counter-clockwise.
• Route 27: Taxi service on this route: The bus has to be called at least 60 min before departure.
• Route 43/44: Lines take over from routes 33/34 on weekdays after noon and on weekends.

Overland buses[]

Notes:

• Route 51: extra school buses between Selfoss, Hella and Hvolsvöllur on schooldays
• Route 52: The morning trip from Reykjavík starts at BSÍ, the second one from Mjódd only. If there is no ship from Landeyjahöfn to the Westman Islands, the bus will terminate at Hvolsvöllur.
• Route 72/73: These are circular routes. Route 72 goes clockwise and 73 counter-clockwise.

* Routes 83, 84 and 85 only operate after a reservation via phone.

Tickets and fares[]

The basic fare for a single ride (within the Capital Region?) in 2021 is ISK 490 for adults but discounts are available for children, senior citizens and disabled people.

Network renewal and development[]

On 23 July 2005, a new route network was instituted to replace the previous network, which had been used practically unchanged for decades. New routes had been added in new-developing areas, but the core routes were largely untouched until 2005. Planning for the revised network began in 2001. Its greatest change was introduction of the 'trunk routes' and their increased frequency during peak hours. Unfortunately, the introduction of the new network caused a great deal of controversy and confusion as people (especially senior citizens, who make up a large percentage of those who actually use the service) had gotten used to the old routes. Additionally, some smaller neighbourhoods were entirely cut out of the routes, resulting in long walks to the nearest bus station. The controversy seems to have died down, and in fact complaints have arisen every time the system has been changed in the past.

On 5 March 2006, some refinements were made to the network in response to comments from users and drivers after the 2005 revision. The greatest change was the addition of 3 routes to better cover some neighborhoods and increase interlinking between areas.

In 2010, a new green line 16 was added to provide a bus at every 15 minutes between Hlemmur and Nauthóll. Also, the course of route 18 was changed, it now terminates at Grafarholt instead of going through to Spöngin. Transportation service is provided by the new blue line 26 by connecting Spöngin and Hraunsás. For both lines, a new stop 'Mímisbrunnur v/Úlfarsbraut' was added. In late summer, there were other changes: Lines 31/32 that used to go through the area around Spöngin (terminus of Route 6) were cancelled. Instead of these two circular routes, line 6 now goes through Borgir, Víkur and Barðastaðir and back to Spöngin for an increased frequency in Borgir, Víkur and Barðastaðir but cutting Hamrar and Rimar from the network. During weekends and late evenings, buses drive from Barðastaðir down to Grafarholt where they serve the new extended Grafarholt area and then head back to Barðastaðir and Spöngin. Also, the route of line 22 was changed for the evenings: It now runs via Álfaskleið instead of serving Skútuhraun/Slökkviðstöð back to Fjörður terminal so an hourly service in central Hafnarfjörður can be provided.

In 2011, Strætó bs. decreased the amount of bus rides per day. Routes 2 and 5 run on weekdays only, stopping already at 6pm. In general, operating hours have been cut: Instead of midnight, buses stop operating at about 11:30 pm. The last routes now terminate at about 11:30 pm. Route 36 was abandoned and 35 now runs in a 30 minutes interval all day.

But there has also been expansion: Service on lines 23 and 28 has been improved. Although the Vífilsstaðir branch of line 23 has been abandoned, the frequency of buses to Álftanes is now every 30 minutes during rush hours and every 60 minutes during the rest of the day. On Sundays, there is a taxi service several times a day to Álftanes and one late night bus is available as taxi service all days of the week from Ásgarður.

Route 28 was expanded to meet the demands of residents from the Vatnsendi area. Instead of having to take the 30 minutes ride to Hamraborg/Kópavorgur, the bus runs now to Mjódd as well so that travelling times from Vatnsendi to connecting trunk routes have been cut by twenty minutes.

In early 2012, bus services in Southern Iceland (Suðurland) were extended. Apart from the bus services from Mjódd to Selfoss and Hveragerði, one can now take buses to Þorlákshöfn, the Laugarvatn area, Vík í Mýrdal/Skógar, Skaftafell and Höfn í Hornafirði in southern Iceland.

As of 2017, there are plans to convert the main corridors into separated fast-lanes, so called Borgarlína, with the first segments expected to open in the 2020s.

External links[]

• Strætó bs official website (in Icelandic)
• Strætó bs official website (in English)
• About Strætó bs (in Icelandic)