Unless you are extremely lucky and found a place to stay a stone-throw away from your campus, or your are very fit and thus decide to bike or walk to university every day, you will sooner or later have to take a bus.
In Trondheim the bus-service, as well as other forms of public transport, is organized through the public company AtB. (Which incidentally is not an abbreviation, if you pronounce AtB in Norwegian it sounds like “A to B” in Trøndersk, the local dialect, and that is usually what you use a bus for, getting from A to B.) For the time being their English section of their homepage is a bit short on info, so here is a brief introduction to the basics.
On the 23. of August the normal bus routes start up after the holiday, beware the before this date the service is somewhat amputated, with fewer buses per hour. It can be smart to get hold of a folder with the routes and timetables right away, it doesn’t take up much space in your backpack. They can be found a number of places, either at AtBs offices, or on the buses themselves.
If you plan to use the bus regularly the preferred method of payment is via T-card. This is a magnetic chip card the size of a credit card. These can be bought at AtBs office downtown in Kongens Gate 34, or at their branch office at the train station.
There are several options, prepaid travel accounts, as well as period cards, with unlimited travel within a period. Either option is significantly cheaper than paying in cash (coins preferred) aboard the bus. The travel-account can you administrate yourself via a personal login on the website. (for the time being www.tkort.no ) If you want the account solution, in stead of regular prepaid, ask at the office when you buy the card.
Costs
As most things in Norway, travel can be more expensive than you hoped. But luckily students get a 40% discount when they buy period-travel cards. That way a 180 day pass (more or less half a year) cost 2025 kroners for a student, or just 18,50 kroners a day. A 90 day pass will cost you 1090,-. (All prices collected from AtBs website august 2010)
Remember to bring your student ID and semestercard when you go to buy the period card! The cards are personal and registred to you by name, so if you lose yours, or it accidentally gets a full spinncycle when you forgot it in your jeans before you put it in the laundry, no need to panic. The AtB office can then get you a replacement for a small fee.
Routes
Here is a link to the route map of Trondheim, unfortunately with Norwegian Text. The main route most students depend upon is the #5 from downtown, through Gløshaugen to Dragvoll, but it all depends on where you live. Don’t be afraid to ask the bus driver or at the AtB office if you are unsure on what bus to get.
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