The political organization Svinesundskommittén coordinates several interested parties to find solutions to the increasing queue problems. Cecilia Nilsson, CEO, is disappointed that Swedish Customs has only participated digitally.
"We need the management here and that they prioritize the important trade between Sweden and Norway. It is 300 billion every year that the countries trade with each other and the obstacles here cost money," she says.
According to Henrik Sjökvist, acting deputy head of the Swedish Customs' control department, they are familiar with the problem. A basic problem is that their capacity on site has not developed at the same pace as the increasing traffic.
"We have a limitation in how the customs station is located, so we have a capacity problem on the Swedish side that doesn't exist on the Norwegian side," he says.
Taking long detours
The hauliers that SVT Nyheter Väst meets outside The Swedish Customs' premises are familiar with the queues.
"I've waited 45 minutes for the bridge, and then an hour here at customs. A large part of my working day is spent," says a Danish truck driver.
A Swedish haulier who has driven across the bridge since it opened says that the problems have gotten worse over time and that several colleagues would rather choose the border crossing in Örje - even if it is a detour.
Redevelopment under investigation
In 2023, Swedish Customs will rebuild to be able to serve more people at the same time. In the longer term, digitalisation aims to create a more automated process, and a major expansion will be investigated.
"We are doing what we can to facilitate border crossing. At the same time, we are a controlling authority, so it will never be completely frictionless to cross a border between the EU and non-EU, says Henrik Sjökvist.