Strætó bs () is ætóa public transport company which operates city buses in the Icelandic capital region, including Reykjavík and surrounding satellite towns and suburbs. Strætó also manages rural bus services for most of the country, including services along the south coast and to north Iceland, in cooperation with the Icelandic Road Administration. Strætó bs was created in its current form through the merger of preexisting bus companies in the region, tracing its roots to the year 1931. Strætó bs is owned and run by the seven municipalities in the region: Reykjavík, Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær, Seltjarnarnes and Álftanes.
As of 2023, 27 city routes and 18 rural routes are operated. The company has a fleet of 85 buses which are coloured bright yellow, 15 of which are battery electric buses and 3 CNG buses. Strætó aims to have converted its whole fleet to zero emissions by 2030. All buses are fitted with real time passenger information systems and free Wi-Fi. Most larger bus stops also have real time departure boards.
Bus network
Most bus routes run at about 15-minute intervals during peak hours on weekdays,and at 30-minute intervals during off-peak hours and at weekends. Routes 1 and 6 are operated on a 10 minute peak frequency and a 15 minute off peak frequency. There are 27 routes, eight of which are trunk routes (routes 1–8) that run between the main city centre terminal at Hlemmur and the various residential neighbourhoods on the city's outskirts; these use the main traffic arteries and are thus the fastest routes available. Nine of the routes are general routes (routes 11–19) that also stop at Hlemmur terminal but go deeper into the different neighborhoods on slower streets. The remaining routes are neighborhood routes (routes 21-36) that run within or between the suburbs and do not stop in downtown Reykjavík.
The buses operate from nine terminals in the Capital Region. The main terminals are Hlemmur and Lækjartorg in downtown Reykjavík; the others are at Hamraborg in Kópavogur, Fjörður in Hafnarfjörður, Ásgarður in Garðabær, Ártún, Mjódd, Spöngin in Reykjavík and Háholt in Mosfellsbær. All of these main bus terminals are served by at least one red (trunk) route.
Night bus
As of 2023, there are five night bus routes operated in the Reykjavík capital region on Friday and Saturday nights. Fares are double the usual day fare and only operate in one direction: from the city centre to the suburbs on an approximately hourly basis. For special events such as the city Culture Night, extra services have been provided during the night. The routes are numbered 101, 103, 104, 105 and 106.
Long distance routes
Bus routes numbered from 50–100 are long-distance routes that run to locations all around Iceland. Some very rural routes are request routes and one must call ahead for the service to operate. Long distance services operated by Strætó bs. from Reykjavík generally depart from the Mjódd bus terminal in the outskirts.
Tickets and fares
City fares
There is a standard flat fare for a single ticket within the capital region of Reykjavík, allowing unlimited transfers for 75 minutes from activation. The single fare in 2023 is ISK 570 for adults. Concessionary fares with discounts of 50% are available for children, senior citizens and 70% for disabled people. Children under 11 travel free. Season tickets are available with the same concessions as single tickets, as well as a 50% student concession.
1 day and 3 day travelcards are also available.
Fare media
An open-loop account based electronic fare payment system called KLAPP was introduced in 2021. A reusable Klapp smartcard can be purchased and registered, and single, season and concessionary tickets can be loaded onto the card. The Klapp smartphone app has the same functionality using barcodes. One can also buy disposable paper barcode tickets, as a carnet of 10 single tickets as well as 1 and 3 day travelcards.
Alternatively, a single fare can be paid directly to the driver in cash, with no change being given, and a paper receipt is issued as a ticket.
Future
With the new Klapp payment system, it is envisioned that direct payment by contactless debit and credit cards will be possible by the end of 2023. In addition, fare-capping will be introduced.