We are on an all-day bus ride from Bergen to Alesund in a very comfortable Volvo bus with great wifi ... about to get on a ferry.
We have passed through so many tunnels on trains and buses that my curiosity was aroused.
As Norway is constantly building tunnels it is hard to get an exact count. There are +/- 1,000 road and rail tunnels, the longest of which is 24.51 km and totalling 750 km.
Then there are the 33 undersea tunnels. This number is rapidly expanding due to a 'NO FERRIES' project. This tremendous expansion is being funded with wealth from Norway's oil. This project will have crossings between large fjords and will include floating bridges, suspension spans of extraordinary lengths, underwater floating tunnels and underwater tunnels deeper than anywhere in the world.
Norway's Undersea Road Tunnel has more information.
Now a series of tunnels underway or in design, around the oil industry city of Stavanger will stretch its skills more than usual. A first scheme, the Ryfast will feature 3 tunnels including a 14.3 km long link that plunges to 290m, deeper beneath the sea than any tunnel before.
Here is a drawing of what the floating tunnels would look like:
While talking of transportation here are today's fuel prices calculated in Canadian dollars at a cost per litre: Regular Gas - 2.87; Premium Gas - 3.03; Diesel Gas - 2.53
Norway has ambitious emission reduction targets. They have the highest per capita number of all-electric (battery only) cars in the world.
There are tremendous incentives here for people to buy electric vehicles, including privileged parking; toll-free travel; lots of recharging stations and in Oslo there is even a business lane just for electric vehicles.
We see lots of high-end Teslas and BMWs as these companies lead in battery technology.
That's all for now. We need to take some photos of the countryside, villages & fjords.
Good question Maria. I forgot to say that there are big tax incentives too: "
ReplyDeleteIn Norway, the Tesla Model S costs roughly $81,000 to $92,000 plus options (that’s translated to US currency, of course). While the figure sounds high, fact is it’s not. The typical, comparable (size and power) gas-burning vehicle in Norway goes for approximately $300,000. The Model S would cost nearly that much there too were it not for tax exemptions." So i think it would be cheaper overall to own a Tesla in Norway than in North America
Now...owning an E Tesla seems to be a bit of a status thing. There are many other companies making E cars that are less expensive but would have the same incentives, such as: BMW, VW, Nissan and there may be others.