Dads with strollers at a bus stop in Sweden
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WHAT SWEDES DRIVE (Part 1)
Driver's licenses – for the persistent and patient
In addition to the usual exams on knowledge of traffic rules and practical driving, you must also take and pass the so-called "risk driving": for example, experience a sharp skid on a slippery road and brake sharply when encountering a plywood moose, the scourge of Swedish roads (in real life, alas, not plywood). If you are getting a license for the first time, the first two years will be a probationary period – if you violate, your license may be revoked.
For many expats who consider themselves experienced drivers, retaking the driving test in Sweden comes as a surprise: the Swedish norm considers the only correct approach to be so-called "defensive driving," where the driver, regardless of road factors, acts proactively and prevents accidents. Tourists can drive in the country with their national licenses provided they are issued in English, German, or French and contain a photo of the holder (a translation or a document with a photo can be provided).
Fines for speeding depend on how much faster you were going than allowed and can be up to 400 euros. Moreover, on roads with a limit of up to 50 km/h, fines will be much higher than on highways. If you exceed the speed limit by 40 km/h or more, the case is sent to the prosecutor's office.
Not a single death in traffic accidents
A person can make a mistake on the road, but the road traffic system must compensate for it. This is the basic principle of the Vision Zero program – a national strategy to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the roads. Over more than 20 years of the strategy, it has been possible to halve the death rate. In 2019, 223 people died on Swedish roads, or 2.8 people per 100,000 population – making Sweden the 6th safest country in the world according to the WHO ranking. The goal for the next decade is to halve fatalities and reduce serious injuries by a quarter.
With the adoption of the Vision Zero program, human life and health became a clear priority for the state (rather than just fewer accidents). The approach to road traffic organization had to be reconsidered, and many solutions modernized. For example, if a traffic light is installed at an intersection, the total number of accidents decreases. And with roundabouts, accidents are also less severe – far fewer people die or are seriously injured.
Roundabouts are being built en masse today. Other effective infrastructure elements include varying numbers of lanes on a road, forcing compliance with the set speed, and the so-called "Spanish turn," where to turn left you first need to exit the road and stop perpendicular to the roadway. In Sweden, they are confident: continuous modernization of the road system based on safety requirements is an absolute duty of the state towards its citizens.
Buses and a lonely trolleybus
The first ancestors of scheduled buses – horse-drawn mail coaches – appeared between Stockholm and Uppsala as early as 1722. In 1899, Stockholmers saw the first real motorized buses, but the line did not last long: the wooden pavement could not withstand the weight of the strange machine and shook so much along with the surrounding houses that local residents protested. Now buses are the most popular (and virtually the only for most cities) mode of transport in Sweden.
You usually board the bus through the front door, where you need to show the driver a ticket or tap your card. To get off, you should press the "stop" button in advance, otherwise the driver may pass the stop. In the middle of the bus, there are always special places for baby strollers and wheelchairs, and, for example, in Stockholm, a passenger with a stroller rides for free so that the child in the stroller does not remain unattended while the parent shows the driver a ticket.
The only trolleybus route in Sweden has been operating since 2003 in the city of Landskrona. Before that, trolleybuses existed in Stockholm and Gothenburg in the 1940s-1960s.
Can we do without gasoline at all?
The transport sector accounts for 40% of all harmful emissions in Sweden. Moreover, cars account for 67% of emissions, while buses account for only 1%. In 2016, Stockholm became the first city in the world to completely abandon fossil fuels for surface public transport. The rest of Sweden lags slightly behind – nationwide, only 80% of buses run on renewable fuel, but by 2030, all non-electrified public transport must completely move away from using petroleum products.
According to a 2020 report from the Stockholm Regional Transport Authority, buses in Stockholm run on: biogas – 15%; ethanol – 21%; biodiesel – 64%; RME (rapeseed methyl ester) – 51%; HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) – 13%. Biofuel for public transport is produced at special plants from household food waste.
On rails – metro and trams
The Stockholm metro – the only one in the country – is a subject of special pride for Swedes. It regularly tops rankings of the world's most beautiful subways and proudly bears the title of "the world's longest art gallery." 90 of its 100 underground and above-ground stations are decorated by renowned artists who consider it an honor to work in the metro.
The Stockholm metro consists of three lines with a rather unusual structure: they converge in the center and branch out at the ends. Each station has displays indicating which terminal station the next train goes to (without them, there would be a high risk of going the wrong way). All three lines meet at T-Centralen station, which also houses the railway and bus stations and the terminal of the Arlanda Express airport train. This is the Central Station, the country's main hub, from where you can travel to any part of Sweden and to neighboring countries.
The first metro stations appeared in Stockholm in 1950, when Sweden still had left-hand traffic, so trains run on the left side. The entrance to the metro is marked with the letter T – Tunnelbana (meaning "tunnel road"). On weekends, the metro operates around the clock, and on weekdays from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM.
In Sweden's second-largest city, Gothenburg, the role of the metro is played by blue trams, which have become its unofficial symbol. The tram network of twelve lines with a total length of over 160 km is a record holder in Northern Europe. Stockholm has only four tram lines, three of which are more of a hybrid between a tram and a commuter train. Tram lines also exist in Norrköping and Lund.
Read the continuation of the article:
WHAT SWEDES RIDE (part 3)