Buses charging in Molde.

The weather gods provided a bit of a test with heavy winter weather in the first week of operation, but so far, the new electric buses have handled the winter well.

"Both the charging and the technical aspects of the buses have worked well," says Stig Helle-Tautra, department manager at FRAM in Møre og Romsdal county authority.

"But as always with heavy winter weather, we experience some delays due to challenging driving conditions."

Changes in Routes

The new bus contract also includes changes to the route plan. This is partly related to the prioritization of the new hospital in Hjelset, to ensure a public transport service for employees, patients, and visitors there.

"The first week of operation with the new route plan has been affected by the winter weather," says Helle-Tautra.

"There is a lot that needs to fall into place during the initial phase, and we are more vulnerable to weather and road conditions. We have had delays on bus line 701 in recent days, and that is of course regrettable."

Increased Frequency

Updated schedules can be found in the FRAM app. You can also follow your bus in real-time on the map in the app. Tingh

Line 701 is the city bus line in Molde that has changed the most in the new route plan. It now has departures every 15 minutes during rush hour, which provides a significantly better frequency than before.

"We are working to resolve the delays on 701 and make necessary route adjustments along the way. In the meantime, we ask our passengers to be a bit patient. Please check your bus line once more in our travel planner, where there are updated schedules and you can follow your bus in real-time on the map," encourages the FRAM manager. 

Other lines have also been somewhat delayed compared to the schedule, and FRAM is therefore monitoring the various lines to make adjustments if necessary.

Changes in Nordbyen

In Nordbyen, there are changes on bus lines 702 and 703: 

Line 702 goes from Hatlelia via Molde traffic terminal – Bergmo – Råkhaugvegen. There, the bus changes line number to 703, which then continues from Råkhaugvegen via Granlia – Langmyrvegen – Molde traffic terminal. 

The same applies in the opposite direction. The same bus continues with a new line number, there is no change of bus. This applies to most departures during the day.

Mid-day, 702 changes from running every 30 minutes to running every 60 minutes. Then there are some departures where there is no change of line number, but the bus turns around and drives back the same way. Which departures this applies to can be found in the travel planner on frammr.no or in the FRAM app and Entur app.

Bus Lines to SNR Hjelset and to Lundavang

The main lines for bus travel to and from the new hospital in Hjelset are 714 Molde–Kleive and 100 FRAM Ekspress Ålesund–Molde–Kristiansund. In addition, lines 902 and 905 also stop at the hospital. In the southbound direction, 905 only stops at the hospital if there are passengers who need to get off there. 

Line 714 starts and ends at Lundavang on certain departures. Which departures this applies to can be found in the travel planner.

"We have received feedback that there is a need for line 702 to stop at Lundavang, and this is one of the adjustments we are looking at now," informs Helle-Tautra.