Buses ousted from downtown Reykjavík

A ban on buses took effect in downtown Reykjavík yesterday. The city has also made recommendations in terms of the directions buses should drive in on the fringes of the affected area but some operators say they need more time to adjust.

“These are extensive changes and it’s a bit of a complicated process,” says Kristján Daníelsson, executive director of Kynnisferðir that runs a Hop-on Hop-off buses. The buses are two stories high and passengers can listen to audio guides while taking in the city. Now, the routes need to be changed according to the city’s recommendations.

Kristján says that even though operators were given plenty of time to adjust to the ban itself they hadn’t been informed or prepared for the route recommendations. He says that some difficulties are to be expected to begin with; in Kynnisferðir alone, 300 drivers in charge of 130 vehicles have to be informed. The adjustments will be made, he says, they just need time.

“We have recordings in eight languages and drive past certain points so it will take some time to change. We let the city know that we would need some adjustment time around all of this and they didn’t respond negatively at all so we are trying to work on it as fast as we can.”