Telemark Bilruter

Infobox Company
company_name = Telemark Bilruter AS
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1998
location = flagicon|Norway Oslo, Norway
key_people =
area_served = Norway
industry = Transport
products =
revenue = profit NOK 125.1 million (2004)
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 184 (2007)
parent =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.telemarkbil.no www.telemarkbil.no]
footnotes = cite web |url=http://www.telemarkbil.no/OmTBR.aspx |title=OmTRB |author=Telemark Billag |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2007-01-27]

Telemark Bilruter is a Norwegian bus company based in Telemark with headquarters in Seljord. The company operates regional and express buses in addition to trucks. The company has monopoly in most of Telemark, but not the highly populated Grenland area. The company has 184 employees, 85 buses and 25 trucks.

The company cooperates with Nettbuss on operating the routes is Telemarksekspressen and Grenlandsekspressen and with Tide on Haukeliekspressen, all branded as NOR-WAY Bussekspress. It also owns 27% of Telemark Kollektivtrafikk, the rest owned by Nettbuss, that operates the city bus in Grenland.

History

Telemark Bilruter is the consequence of the constant merger of bus companies in Telemark, and was created in 1998 when Vest-Telemark Bilruter and Grenland Nord trafikkselskap merged. The first operation of a bus by a precessor was in 1910 when Fyresdal Automobilselskap bought a French La Buire. In 1943 11 companies merged to form Vest-Telemark Billag, and in 1972 it merged with Reinums Bilruter to create Vest-Telemark Bilruter. Grenland Nord had its roots back to 1920 and was created by a merger in 1989. [cite web |url=http://www.telemarkbil.no/Historie.aspx |title=Historie |author=Telemark Billag |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2007-01-27]

The largest owners of the company are Municipality of Vinje (17.7%), Seljord Sparebank (9.8%), Municipality of Fyresdal (8.4%), Vrål Fossli (5.0%), Tide (4.0%), Haugerød & Nilsen (3.5%) and Tinn Billag (3.4%). Municipalities in Telemark own all in all 32% of the company.

References