Today, public transport on Gotland is managed by the company Gotlandsbuss, which is owned by 13 Gotland bus companies. Including Persson's bus in Visby.

But in the latest public transport procurement carried out by Region Gotland, politicians demanded that 70 per cent of the traffic be spent on biogas.

Too large investments

To meet such a requirement, many of the local bus companies must invest in new vehicles. But as the procurement was designed, the Gotland bus and its owners did not want to take the risk.

- It was a three-year agreement on which the procurement was based. If you have to buy as many buses, and each bus is around three million, it is too big investments. The next procurement might be lost and then you stand there with all the buses, says Pernilla Larsson, owner of Persson's bus. She and the other co-owners of Gotlandbuss had rather seen a longer agreement.

"A ten-year contract is what you want in order to be able to invest this big money," she says.

Mainland companies are taking over

The Gotland bus therefore did not submit a tender and instead it became a mainland company that won the tender. From next summer, Bergkvarabus takes their buses to the island and takes over the business. As a consequence, several of the Gotland companies are closing down and some 70 Gotland buses are being put up for sale. Including Persson's bus.

- I think it's really boring. We have had the company for over 40 years and would love to continue. But there is no possibility when you cannot have something all year round, says Pernilla Larsson.

Karl-Johan Boberg (C), Chairman of the Technical Committee, Region Gotland Photo: SVT

- It is sad that it has these effects, states Karl-Johan Boberg (C), chairman of the technical committee in the Gotland Region.

They say that three years is too short a contract to be able to make these big investments?

- I can have some understanding for that. But it is de facto that we cannot ignore climate change. If you do not have fossil-free buses then you need to change. And we need to do this here and now, the environment can't wait, says Karl-Johan Boberg.