Strætó bs

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A bus in Reykjavík

Strætó bs is a public transport company which operates city buses in the Icelandic capital, Reykjavík and surrounding satellite towns and suburbs. The buses are bright yellow and are commonly called 'Strætó' by the locals. It is a shortened nickname for "strætisvagn" - which literally means "street carriage". Strætó bs started operations 1 July 2001 with the merger of SVR (Strætisvagnar Reykjavíkur) and AV (Almenningsvagnar). SVR used to operate in Reykjavík and nearby satellites in the northern part of the Capital region while AV covered the southern part of the area.

The buses run approximately every 20 minutes on weekdays but every 30 minutes during weekends and evenings. There are 26 routes in all. 6 of them are so-called 'trunk routes' (red-routes 1-6) that run between the main terminal at Hlemmur and the various residential neighbourhoods on the city's outskirts; these use the main traffic arteries and are thus the fastest routes available. 8 routes are general routes (green-routes 11-19) that also stop at Hlemmur terminal but go deeper into the different neighborhoods on slower streets. Finally, there are 12 neighborhood routes (blue-routes 22-24, 27-28 and 31-36) that run within or between the suburbs and don't stop in downtown Reykjavík.

The buses operate from 8 terminals in the Capital area. The main ones are Hlemmur and Lækjartorg in city centre, and there also ones at Hamraborg, Fjörður, Ásgarður, Ártún, Háholt and Mjódd. The basic fare for a single ride is currently ISK 280 (approximately £2.15/$4.15/€3.15) for adults but discounts are available for children, senior citizens and disabled people. Fares for students in secondary schools or universities are free because of governmental subsidies. Prepaid cards that allow unlimited rides for a set period of time are also available, such as the green card which is valid for 1 month and costs ISK 5600 (£43/$83/€62).

Strætó bs is owned and run by the seven municipalities in the Capital area; these are:

On 23 July 2005 a new route network was taken into use replacing the older network, but its core had been practically unchanged for the last few decades. Through the years, new routes had been added, mostly to serve the newer neighbourhoods of the city, but no fundamental changes made. Developing work for the new network started in late 2001. The biggest change was the introduction of the 'trunk routes' and their increased frequency during peak hours. Unfortunately, the introduction of the new network caused a great deal of controversy and confusion as people (especially senior citizens, who make up a large percentage of those who actually use the service) had gotten used to the old routes. Additionally, some smaller neighbourhoods were entirely cut out of the routes, resulting in long walks to the nearest bus station. The controversy seems to have died down in recent months, and in fact complaints have arisen every time the system has been changed in the past.

On 5 March 2006 some refinements were made to the network based on passenger and bus drivers comments which had been gathered since the introduction of the new network in 2005. The most important changes were the addition of three new routes to increase service density in some neighbourhoods and add some needed interlinking between areas.