During the past week, three regional buses around Uppsala County have ended up in the ditch. One of the buses lay on its side to the point that doors were blocked and neither passengers nor bus drivers could get out on their own.
Now there is criticism from the bus drivers' union about how the bus companies assess when it is appropriate to drive a bus in extreme winter road conditions.
– Yes, of course you as a driver have the right to speak up and protest if it does not feel good - but it is often the bus company that has the last word, says Anders Nordvall, who is chairman of the svealand region at the trade union Bussarbetarnas riksorganisation.
Keoli's explanation
Keolis, who drives Uppsala's county buses, believes that "extremely heavy" emphasis is placed on drivers' reporting of the road situation.
"If the assessment is made that the roads are not drivable, Keolis will cancel the traffic. And UL is informed for further information to the travelers. On Tuesday, over 100 tours were cancelled due to the above assessment. Keolis always puts safety first", write Sven Andersén and Pär Karlsson, responsible for Keoli's operations within UL.
But the union representative is still skeptical of some decisions.
"It's a big responsibility to drive passengers, so you're constantly on edge. Despite the fact that the buses' tires can look impressive, there is no stud and thus quite slippery sometimes, says Anders Nordvall.
In the clip: Hear what it feels like to drive a bus on winter road conditions – and Keoli's reasoning about letting buses run even on extreme winter road conditions.