Buses and pedestrians at Railway Square in Helsinki on Tuesday, 12 March 2024. Public transport operators in the capital region have warned that the ongoing political strikes have the potential to disrupt fuel deliveries in a way that affects bus services. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)
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THE DISRUPTIONS in fuel distribution caused by the widespread ongoing political strikes could bring public transport services to a screeching stop in a number of cities in Finland.
Henrik Mikkola, the managing director of Koiviston Auto, on Tuesday told Helsingin Sanomat that fuel is set to run out at one of the company’s bus depots in the capital region in the early hours of Wednesday.
The depots are expected to deplete their fuel reserves entirely by the weekend, leaving only electric buses in operation.
Koiviston Auto operates roughly a third of the local bus services of Helsinki Region Transport (HSL). Mikkola said Neste, the sole fuel supplier of Koiviston Auto, has informed the company that no additional diesel deliveries will be made.
“At the moment, deliveries have pretty much stopped. There may be some individual deliveries if we’re lucky,” he commented to the newspaper.
Diesel powers about one-third of the bus services of HSL.
Mårten Winqvist, the traffic director at Nobina, said to Helsingin Sanomat that the company operates buses from five depots in the capital region, some of which have their own fuel tanks and fuelling infrastructure while others rely on commercial service stations. Although Nobina has thus far been able to operate its buses as usual, a disruption in fuel deliveries would cause shortages in the depots in one to five days, depending on the depot.
“If deliveries to fuel tanks stop, there’s a big risk. We’re naturally also using commercial stations as long as we can,” he remarked. “We may face a new situation tomorrow. We’re now anxious about the possibility that deliveries are missed and that fuel starts running out.”
Jaakko Rantala, the head of traffic and quality at Pohjolan Liikenne, reminded similarly that although no disruptions have yet to occur, the situation could change quickly.
“We’re taking it day by day. If there’s a disruption in fuel deliveries, of course it’d have a massive impact on our diesel fleet,” he said to the newspaper, adding that the impacts would be significant especially in Espoo.
Koiviston Auto also provides public transport services in cities such as Jyväskylä, Lahti, Kuopio and Tampere. Mikkola revealed to STT on Tuesday that the situation is critical especially in Jyväskylä.
“There’d be an almost complete stop in Jyväskylä. We only have three electric buses there, and we operate around 90 per cent of the city’s local transport services,” he said to the news agency, adding that shortages are expected in the coming couple of days.
In Lahti, meanwhile, the depots are not expected to run out of diesel until early next week.
“In Lahti, we operate over half of public transport. Roughly two-thirds of buses there run on diesel. […] In Tampere, we can probably continue to operate as long as public service stations don’t run out of fuel,” said Mikkola.
Koiviston Auto will effectively experience disruptions in cities where its buses are re-fuelled at its own depots.
“Neste can’t currently deliver any fuel in Southern Finland,” Mikkola stated to STT. “In the capital region, for instance, there’s no way for us to refuel at public stations. It wouldn’t be possible if 150 buses went to fill up at a nearby station from our depot in Ilmala. The stations simply don’t have the necessary capacity.”
Harri Tuomaala, the head of ABC at SOK, on Tuesday reiterated his assurance that the political strikes will not cause any fuel shortages at service stations. “Finland has a significant amount of fuels available, and the delivery capacity is solid, too,” he stressed to Helsingin Sanomat.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
- Next Article HS: Strikes force Finnair to add re-fuelling stops to long-haul flights
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
