Vy Buss

Vy Buss, formerly branded as Nettbuss, is the largest bus company in Norway, owned by Vy. It was established on 10 February 2000 as the continuation of the bus operations from former NSB Biltrafikk. In addition to bus services in major parts of Norway, it also operates buses in Sweden through subsidiaries.

The company has its headquarters in Oslo with the operations being performed by subsidiaries. The company has about 25% market share in Norway and offers local and express bus services, and tour coaches through Peer Gynt Tours. The corporation has approximately 5,000 employees.

Most of the routes are on contract or public service obligation (PSO) with the counties, and in some counties the buses are branded with the counties public transport brands, like Ruter in Akershus and Kolumbus in Rogaland. On some regional high-frequency routes Nettbuss uses its own brand TIMEkspressen (the hourly express).

History

NSB Bilruter was established on 9 November 1925 as part of the Norwegian State Railway to offer supplementary bus services in Trøndelag. The first route was from Hell to Selbu Municipality, known as Selburuta. The company developed a number of routes to supplement train services.

In 1996, the bus division was made a separate limited company, NSB Biltrafikk AS, wholly owned by NSB. The new company started a vast acquisition of numerous local bus companies in addition to winning public service obligation contracts with some Norwegian counties. In 2000, the company changed its name to Nettbuss. The same year the truck division was sold to the Norwegian Postal Service.

Among the companies acquired by Nettbuss are:
* Drammen og Omegn Busslinjer
* Fjerdingen Busstrafikk
* Gardermoenbussene
* Kjell Lindhjems Bilruter
* Orusttrafiken (Swedish)
* Peer Gynt Tours
* Sirdalsruta
* Team Trafikk
* TIMEkspressen Telemark
* Øst-Telemark Automobilselskap
* Säfflebussen

In April 2019, it was rebranded from Nettbuss to Vy.

In 2020, Vy acquired Swedish bus company Flygbussarna Airport Coaches from Transdev Sweden.

Brands

Vy bus4you

Luxury intercity coaches, operated on Gothenburg–Stockholm, Oslo–Gothenburg–Copenhagen, Oslo–Stockholm.

Vy express

Intercity coaches in both Norway and Sweden.

Former: TIMEkspressen

TIMEkspressen (''Time Ekspressen'' means "Hourly Express") was an intercity coach brand used by Nettbuss on 9 routes in Norway. The coaches were usually operated at one hour headway, but some routes had higher frequency in rush hour and lower frequency in the weekends.

Operations

Vy Buss has several fully owned and some partially owned subsidiaries.

Nordlandsbuss

Nordlandsbuss is owned 34% by Vy Buss and 66% by Saltens Bilruter and was the result of a merger between Nettbuss Helgeland AS and Saltens Bilruter's bus division. The company operates local and express bus routes in Nordland county and has its offices in Bodø.

Vy Buss

Previously Orusttrafiken, and is one of Vy Buss' Swedish subsidiaries. Formerly headquartered in Stenungsund, now Gothenburg, the company operates primarily in Southwestern Sweden.

Vy Travel

Vy Travel is another of Vy Buss' Swedish subsidiaries. It operates the Swedish part of the two intercity coach brands Bus4You and Nettbuss express. Routes between cities like Oslo to Copenhagen and Stockholm, and Stockholm to Gothenburg. Formerly headquartered in Borås, now Gothenburg.

Former operations

BorgBuss

Initially 50% of BorgBuss was owned by Nettbuss while the rest was owned by Fredrikstad Municipality and Hvaler Municipality. The company operated local buses in Østfold. Later Nettbuss obtained a 100% share and bus operations were merged into Nettbuss Øst on 1 July 2013.

Nettbuss Danmark

Nettbuss Danmark was Nettbuss' subsidiary in Danish market. In 2006, Nettbuss acquired Partner Bus AS and has merged it into Netbus Denmark. The headquarters were located in Copenhagen. In 2014, the operations merged with Keolis' Danish subsidiary via a joint venture, where Nettbuss owns 25%.

Nettbuss Drammen

Nettbuss Drammen operated bus services in the counties of Buskerud and Telemark, including the city buses in Drammen. Nettbuss Telemark was merged into Nettbuss Drammen in 2005. The company had its headquarters in Drammen. In 2013, it was merged into Nettbuss Sør AS.

Nettbuss Midt-Norge

Nettbuss Midt-Norge AS, formerly Nettbuss Trøndelag AS, was the result of the acquisition of Fjerdingen Busstrafikk, serving Stjørdal Municipality and Meråker Municipality as well as Hemne og Orkladal Billag, serving large parts of Sør-Trøndelag. The company was headquartered in Trondheim. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the parent company.

Nettbuss Møre

Nettbuss Møre was the result of numerous mergers in Møre og Romsdal, the latest between Nettbuss Møre and Nettbuss Ålesund. The company operated a number of routes in the county, including the city buses in Kristiansund, Molde, and Ålesund and two intercity coach routes to Oslo. The company was headquartered in Ålesund. In 2013, it was merged into Nettbuss Midt-Norge AS.

Nettbuss Stadsbussarna

Nettbuss Stadsbussarna, formerly Stadsbussarna Sverige, operates the city buses in Östersund, Gävle, Hässleholm, and Lund.Nettbuss
Sweden

Nettbuss Sør

Nettbuss Sør operated local and intercity buses in Buskerud, Telemark, Vest-Agder (from January 2011 also local buses in Kristiansand) and Rogaland. The company had its headquarters in Arendal until 2013, when it was moved to Drammen. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the parent company.

Nettbuss Travel

Nettbuss Travel operates several of their intercity coach lines in Norway, Nettbuss express and TIMEkspressen lines. Prior to 1 January 2016, the company was known as Nettbuss Ekspress AS. The company was initially founded in cooperation with Fjord1. Another company named Nettbuss Travel AS was merged into the company in the spring of 2015.

Nettbuss Trondheim (Team Trafikk)

Team Trafikk was created by a merger between the municipal Trondheim Trafikkselskap and private Hemne og Orkladal Billag. It was then acquired by Nettbuss and the city bus in Trondheim Municipality and Klæbu Municipality kept the name Team Trafikk while the rest of the operations were moved to Nettbuss Møre and Nettbuss Trøndelag. The company also owns the subsidiary Team Verkstedsenter that operates three commercial heavy duty workshops. Headquarters lay in Trondheim. On 1 January 2011, the company changed its name to Nettbuss Trondheim, and was merged into Nettbuss Trøndelag later the same year.

Nettbuss Øst

Nettbuss Øst, formerly Nettbuss Lillestrøm, operated local and intercity buses within the counties of Akershus, Hedmark, Oslo and Østfold. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the parent company.

Nettbuss Østfold

Nettbuss Østfold operated local and intercity buses in Østfold and was headquartered in Sarpsborg. It was merged into Nettbuss Øst in 2013.

References

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Bus companies of Agder
Bus companies of Akershus
Bus companies of Buskerud
Bus companies of Innlandet
Bus companies of Møre og Romsdal
Bus companies of Østfold
Bus companies of Rogaland
Bus companies of Trøndelag

Norwegian State Railways
Nor-Way Bussekspress operators
Transport companies established in 2000
Norwegian companies established in 2000