What Brakar does

Brakar is the public transport authority for Buskerud county in Norway, responsible for planning, coordinating, marketing, and ticketing of bus, ferry, school, and on-demand mobility services. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Drammen, Brakar does not own vehicles — all bus transport is performed by contracted operators (primarily Vy Buss) selected through competitive tendering, while ferry operations on the Svelvik-Verket route are run by Bastø-Fosen under a 10-year contract that began in 2022 with a new fully electric vessel. Brakar also administers school transport for approximately 8,000 students and is piloting Brakar Fleks on-demand transit, Nabogo carpooling, Fairtiq distance-based pricing, and accessibility features for visually impaired passengers developed with Kogenta.

The core product surface is the Brakar Billett mobile app, which accounted for 86% of ticket sales in 2022, alongside real-time departure displays at stops, a journey planner on brakar.no, and a customer service center reachable via phone (177). The Brakar Billett ticketing layer, combined with period ticket acceptance on Nabogo ridesharing and Brakar Fleks on-demand, forms an integrated multimodal ecosystem. Brakar was 100% owned by Buskerud fylkeskommune (Buskerud County Municipality) and transitioned from Brakar AS into a section within the county's transport department effective 23 June 2025.

The revenue model combines passenger fares (zone-based ticketing across multiple ticket types, with a 3.5% price increase from 27 January 2025), substantial government subsidies from Buskerud fylkeskommune (473 million NOK in 2022, approximately 58% of total turnover of 821 million NOK), school transport service contracts, ferry fares on the Svelvik-Verket route, advertising sales through partner UTD Reklameprodusenten, and emerging revenue from new mobility services. The company explicitly states no profit motive, reinvesting all revenues into public transport operations. Customer segments span daily commuters, the ~8,000 students served by school transport, cross-county commuters on Line 200 (Hønefoss-Oslo), passengers with reduced mobility, and hospital employees at Drammen and Blakstad hospitals.

Name

Brakar

Legal name

Brakar AS

Website

https://brakar.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brakar is the public transport authority for Buskerud county in Norway, planning and coordinating bus, ferry, school, and on-demand mobility services under sole ownership of Buskerud fylkeskommune. It serves daily commuters, students, and the general public through contracted operators and an integrated digital ticketing platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Transportation

NAICS

School and Employee Bus Transportation (48541), Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation (48521)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100), Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/County Public Bus Operators (THAIAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

School & Student Public Transit Bus Operators (THAIAEAF), Rural & Small-Town Intercity Scheduled Bus Operators (THAIADAF), Night Bus & Late-Night Urban Bus Operators (THAIAEAH)

Keywords

• Public transit services
• Bus transportation
• School transport services
• Ferry operations
• On-demand mobility

Headquarters

HQ city

Drammen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from selling bus tickets and travel cards to passengers. Ticket categories include adult single tickets, child tickets, senior tickets, youth tickets, 24-hour tickets, 7-day tickets, 30-day period tickets, and student tickets.
2. Government Subsidies: Public funding from Buskerud county municipality to support public transport operations. Subsidies per trip approximately 51 kroner.
3. Bus Advertising: Sale of advertising space on buses through partnership with UTD Reklameprodusenten. Brakar has a constantly renewed bus fleet including hybrid and electric buses.
4. School Transport Services: Revenue from school transport services administered for approximately 8,000 students, including special transport for students with medical needs.
5. Ferry Revenue (Svelvik-Verket): Revenue from the Svelvik-Verket ferry crossing based on AutoPASS regulations. Only vehicles pay; all passengers travel free.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Brakar plans, coordinates, and markets public passenger transport and school transport across Buskerud county in Norway. The company does not own buses; all road transport is delivered by contracted operators (primarily Vy Buss) selected through competitive tendering. Brakar also operates the Svelvik-Verket ferry, the Brakar Billett mobile app for ticketing and journey planning, and runs supplementary services such as the Brakar Fleks on-demand booking system, Nabogo carpooling, night bus, and school transport administration for approximately 8,000 students.

Product overview

Brakar operates as a unified public transport platform offering bus services, ferry transport, school transport, and mobility solutions across Buskerud county in Norway. The core offering includes regular bus routes (operated by contractors like Vy Buss), the Brakar Billett mobile app for ticketing, and real-time departure information. Additional services include Brakar Fleks on-demand booking transport, Nabogo carpooling integration, night bus service, and the Svelvik-Verket ferry. The product portfolio spans physical transit, digital services, and innovative mobility experiments including self-driving bus pilots and Fairtiq distance-based pricing trials. The company does not own buses but serves as the planning, coordination, and marketing authority for public transport in Buskerud.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brakar Billett: Mobile ticketing app for purchasing bus tickets
• Brakar Fleks
• Bamse Brakar
• Nabogo

Products and services

• Brakar Billett (Mobile App) Mobile ticketing application for purchasing and validating bus tickets, checking real-time departures, and receiving traffic alerts. Supports anonymous and registered travel cards. Targeted at individual passengers in Buskerud county.
• Brakar Fleks On-demand booking service for flexible bus transportation in Kongsberg and other areas. Passengers order rides via app, phone, or website; routes are dynamically planned to maximize ride-sharing and efficient driving. Available to individual passengers in Buskerud.
• Svelvik-Verket Ferry Shortest ferry route in Norway connecting Svelvik to Verket on Hurumlandet, with 52-78 daily departures. Fully electric ferry since 2022. Free for passengers; only vehicles pay under AutoPASS regulations. Targeted at commuters and travelers in Buskerud.
• School Transport (Skoleskyss) School bus transportation service for approximately 8,000 students in Buskerud county (1,300 secondary school, 6,700 primary school). Includes regular school routes and special transport for students with medical needs. Administered via contracts with operators such as Drammen Taxi, Ring Taxi, Vy Buss, and others.
• Night Bus Service (Nattbuss) Night bus service on selected lines in Drammen operating Friday and Saturday nights. Available at regular prices with period and youth tickets valid without extra cost. Targeted at late-night travelers and weekend social travelers.
• Nabogo Carpooling Carpooling service integrated with Brakar through the Nabogo app. Matches drivers with available seats and passengers needing transport. Passengers with Brakar period tickets can carpool for free; others get first 10 km free. Drivers receive payment based on kilometers driven.
• Real-Time Information Signs (Sanntidsskilt) Digital departure signs at bus stops showing arrivals adjusted for delays, displaying when buses are actually expected to depart based on real-time conditions. Currently deployed at 14 bus stops in Drammen. Targeted at passengers waiting at bus stops.
• Min Side (My Page) Online customer portal for managing travel cards, viewing ticket information, updating personal details, and deleting account and personal data. Available to registered Brakar users.
• Bus Advertising Advertising space sales on Brakar buses through partner UTD Reklameprodusenten. Available on hybrid and electric buses for environmentally conscious brand positioning. Targeted at advertisers seeking transit visibility.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11.2 million journeys registered in 2022
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Vy BusscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 July 2023Main bus operator for multiple contract areas including Drammen, Lier, Kongsberg, Midtfylket, Ringerike, Hole, and Hallingdal. All bus transport performed by Vy Buss under competitive tendering contracts. Also operates Brakar Fleks Kongsberg on-demand service.
• NabogostrategicTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Danish company providing app technology for ridesharing. Enables matching of drivers with available seats and passengers needing transport. Piloted at Drammen Hospital to reduce car commuting. First 30 km free for hospital employees, free for transit pass holders.
• UTD ReklameprodusentenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2023Advertising production company handling bus advertising sales for Brakar. Contact: Tor Lie, [email protected]
• Bastø-FosencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2022Operator of Svelvik-Verket ferry route from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2031. New electric ferry (Svelvik) built for fully electric operation with charging towers installed.
• KogentastrategicTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Technology partner developing software solution to help blind and visually impaired passengers identify correct buses. Solution integrates with Brakar app allowing passengers to select bus line and notify driver of priority passenger at stop.
• Applied AutonomystrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Technology partner for self-driving bus projects in Kongsberg and Drammen. Collaborated on EU-project Sohjoa Last Mile testing autonomous minibus without operator on closed route in Teknologiparken Kongsberg.
• Vestre Viken HFstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Health trust operating Drammen Hospital and Blakstad Hospital. Partner in ridesharing pilot project Nabogo targeting hospital employees' commute. New hospital opening at Brakerøya in 2025 with 8,500 daily workers expected.
• BuskerudbyenstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement with Samferdselsdepartementet for reward funds to strengthen public transport, reduce car use, and facilitate cycling and walking. Received 74 million NOK in 2022. Includes Drammen, Lier, Øvre Eiker and Kongsberg.
• Buskerud fylkeskommunecoreOthersBuskerud county municipality owns and funds Brakar. From June 23, 2025, Brakar becomes a section in the transport department of Buskerud fylkeskommune.
• Vy BusscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMultiple school transport operators including Drammen Taxi, Ferder Taxi, Ring Taxi, Geilo Taxi, Viken Taxi, Norgestaxi, Sälls Fjelsservice, Hadeland Taxi, Geir Finnevolden for special school transport services.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Entur: National Norwegian entity owning the journey planner and ticketing backbone (the Brakar Billett app is built on Entur's SDK). Ecosystem partner and structural peer as the shared technology platform across all Norwegian PTAs.
• Vy Buss: Norway's largest bus operator and Brakar's primary contracted operator under competitive tendering. Not a peer in the PTA sense, but the dominant counterparty whose performance directly determines Brakar's service quality.

Regional players

• Boreal: Norwegian transport group operating buses and ferries, including contracts for other Norwegian PTAs (e.g., Stavanger region). Relevant as a potential alternative operator in future Brakar tenders.

Direct peers

• Ruter: Public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus. Closest functional peer to Brakar — same PTA model (plans, contracts, markets services; does not own vehicles), same technology stack (Entur), and same regulatory regime, but operates in a far larger urban market.
• AtB: Public transport authority for Trøndelag county. Comparable PTA structure covering buses, ferries, and on-demand transport across a similar mix of urban (Trondheim) and rural geographies.
• Kolumbus: Public transport authority for Rogaland (Stavanger region). Operates the HentMeg on-demand concept that Brakar licensed for its Brakar Fleks service. Directly comparable as a Norwegian county-level PTA.
• Skyss: Public transport authority for Vestland county (Bergen region). Comparable in mandate and service mix — bus, light rail, ferry, school transport — and operates under the same Norwegian PTA regulatory framework as Brakar.
• FARTE: Public transport authority for Nordland county. Compares as a smaller, more rural Norwegian PTA — relevant peer for benchmarking Brakar's rural service areas (Hallingdal, Midtfylket).

Broad incumbents

• Keolis Norge: Norwegian subsidiary of international mobility operator Keolis. Participates in Norwegian public transport tenders and provides benchmarked operator performance for contracts similar to those Brakar awards.
• Nobina: Nordic public transport operator that competes with Vy Buss in Norwegian tenders. Comparable as a large-scale contracted operator serving PTAs across Scandinavia, relevant for understanding Brakar's competitive tendering landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BrakarBuss
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoshZyTfic_tpQsXk7ci6Ew
• Facebookfacebook.com/brakar.no
• LinkedInno.linkedin.com/company/brakar
• Instagraminstagram.com/brakar.no

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brakar