Østfold kollektivtrafikk Schedules 2026

Østfold kollektivtrafikk (ØKT) is the public transport authority for Østfold county in south-eastern Norway, based in Sarpsborg. It plans and contracts the county's buses, school transport and the Hvaler ferry — the vessels themselves are worked by Norled, which also runs the disruption alerts for the route.

Free for people, charged for cars

Passengers travel free all year. Vehicles are the exception: free carriage applies only from mid-August to 23 March 2026, when charging resumes. Per crossing the tariff runs NOK 155 for a motorcycle, 255 for an electric car, 325 for a car or ATV under six metres, then by length — 525, 725, 925, 1,125 and 1,325 for anything over fourteen metres. Residents of the eastern islands get one car per household free, year-round, and tractors and equipment needed for farming stay free permanently. Goods do not.

Buying a ticket is not booking a place

ØKT states this in capitals on its own page, because the two systems are separate. Space must be reserved first — in the booking system at hvalerferga.ostfold-kollektiv.no or by phone — and only then is the ticket bought in the ØstfoldBillett app or by SMS. Texting a keyword to 1930 buys one of four tickets: Bil (325), Elbil (255), MC (155) or Frakt (50, for freight up to 10 kg that can be carried aboard — not luggage). The ticket is valid for 90 minutes.

Some sailings only happen if you ask

Departures marked "b" in the timetable are on request: the ferry calls at Herføl, Nedgården, Sanne, Gravningsund and Lauer only if someone has booked. There is no seat reservation beyond that for foot passengers, but vehicles and freight must be booked on every departure.

Freight has its own timetable and no one to hand it to

Goods are planned onto the weekday 09.10 and 11.30 sailings from Skjærhalden. Because there is no crew or agent at the quay, businesses must leave consignments at the marked place by 08.45 or 10.40, labelled with the departure, the route, sender and recipient, and weight or volume. Anything over 10 kg is invoiced, and regular shippers register as invoice customers. Freight must be carriable by hand, palletised for a pallet truck or crane, or on wheels. Deliveries on Tuesdays and Thursdays can delay the 11.55 from Herføl and the 11.45 from Nedgården.

A weight limit on the ramp

A temporary restriction on MS Torine's vehicle ramp means she cannot currently carry anything with an axle load above 5 tonnes. Heavier vehicles are handled on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when the reserve vessel MS Ternen covers those departures; other days require a call to freight planning. Both ships can be tracked live on Kystverket's vessel map, and the timetable is built around school bus arrivals.