Public Transportation on the Water

Karlstad is built on a delta where the river Klarälven meets Lake Vänern. During the summer of 2008, the city buses have given the population in Karlstad the opportunity to travel by boat buses, and the experimental work became a huge success. 50 000 persons have paid the three boat routes a visit, and the municipality is now nominated to the grand tourism price.

Karlstadsbuss has had three boat routes with 35 departures a day and they operated seventeen bridge stops. The travellers could choose from going short routes or take a longer route, which lasted for two hours and guided you through the whole city. Two of the routes have also operated on the river. One of these routes went from the city centre to the city park Mariebergssko-gen, and the other one went in a circular line within the city centre and around the delta. The third route went out on Lake Vänern and to Hammarö, a small island outside Karlstad. The boats have gone from 10 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock in the evening almost every day of the week during June, July and August. The passengers have been people who commute to their jobs, people from Karlstad who take field trips in their own city and a large amount of tourists.

• The reception has been more positive than we expected. The queues have been long almost every day at the bridge stops, says Sören Bergerland, head of Karlstadsbuss.
• Since the venture has been an experimental work, we are now going to make an evaluation. After the evaluation is done it is up to the politicians to decide what will happen to the boat buses next year.

Karlstadsbuss and their public boat transportation have been nominated to Sweden's grand tourism price. The winner is appointed at the Swedish Travel-and Tourism gala in October. The price is given to a tourist activity that has developed the tourism in Sweden in an exemplary way.