The Strætó municipal bus is working towards increased service on three of the most frequented capital-area bus lines, RÚV reports. Per a newly proposed schedule adjustment, service on the 1, 3, and 6 lines would increase to once every seven and a half minutes during rush hour starting in January 2020. The service increases were approved by the Reykjavík City Council in a meeting earlier this week, but still have to be reviewed by surrounding municipalities.
According to Pawel Bartoszek, a council member for the Reform Party who spoke with RÚV on the increased service proposal, there is currently a ten-minute wait between buses on the 1 and 6 lines, and a fifteen-minute wait between buses on the 3 line. The City Council has requested information on how much the increased service will cost to implement, and changes may be made to the service proposal depending on what they find out. Pawel says the idea isn’t to change the Strætó system overall, simply to increase service at the times of greatest need.
Unfortunately, no service increases will be implemented for over a year. Pawel explained that this is because municipalities in the capital area must now review the new budget and schedule plan and that there is a set protocol for making changes to the Strætó route schedule. It’s important, he says, to review this proposal well and discuss it with the adjoining municipalities who are involved in and directly affected by Strætó operations, but hopes that there is enough interest in the proposal to seriously review it soon, so that “…it doesn’t get stranded in the Reykjavík City Council.”
