Drug analysis service saved

Oslo news from the past 48 hours: the municipality releases 750,000 NOK to save the drug analysis service run by Tryggere Ruspolitikk. A City Council hearing on Wednesday focused on the Røabadet controversy, while announced cuts to rail and public transport are raising concerns among professionals and the opposition.

Oslo: drug analysis service back on track

The illicit-substance analysis service run by the organisation Tryggere Ruspolitikk, billed as the first of its kind in Norway, is set to resume. It was shut down this summer due to lack of funding (NRK Oslo). On Monday, the Oslo municipality announced it would pay 750,000 NOK to maintain the activity. Funding is expected to be renewed next year (NRK Oslo).

"We are grateful and happy to be able to roll up our sleeves and try to relaunch a new offer," says Ina Spinnangr, the organisation's director general, to NRK Oslo.

The scheme allowed users to have illegal products analysed to learn their composition. The organisation calls the offer important and welcomes the municipality's contribution (NRK Oslo). The decision directly concerns Oslo county and its municipal budget.

Røabadet: west Oslo left without a public pool

No public pool is currently accessible in west Oslo. Røabadet, a private facility, closed its doors to the general public in May: it is now reserved for members, with no drop-in access, and the schools that used it for swimming lessons no longer have access (NRK Oslo).

The issue was the focus of an Oslo City Council hearing on Wednesday. The byrådsleder harshly attacked the private owner there. "In 19 years as an elected official in the Oslo municipality, I have never seen another commercial player so actively mobilise so many resources to drive their straw so far into the city's coffers," he said (NRK Oslo).

The central question at the hearing was how Oslo ended up in this situation. The pool crisis in the west of the capital has worsened since the site was closed to casual visitors and school groups (NRK Oslo).

Rail and bus: cuts spark backlash

The government proposes cutting rail subsidies, which, according to professionals, risks making the situation worse. "It is dramatic for the railways," says Audun Blegen of Entreprenørforeningen Bygg og Anlegg (EBA). "It means more temporary layoffs. And more problems on the rail" (NRK Oslo).

The organisation had already warned in August that rail contractors had to put staff on partial unemployment due to a lack of projects. Miljøpartiet De Grønne (MDG) joins the criticism, arguing that the government is "pouring fuel on the fire of the rail chaos". "I think many of us feel betrayed," says MP Margit Bye (MDG) (NRK Oslo). In January, Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) had announced an additional one billion NOK effort for rail.

On public transport, a monthly bus pass will cost an average of 160 NOK more next spring. "The government boasts about cutting taxes, but for everyone earning less than one million NOK, the subscription price rise exceeds the tax gain," says Oda Indgaard, MDG's finance spokesperson (NRK Oslo). According to The Local Norway, more than 800 trains are cancelled over the coming days due to an ongoing strike, and Oslo central station will be closed all day Saturday. Aftenposten also notes signs of a wage-price spiral and factors keeping interest rates high (Aftenposten).

📌 Local briefs

A 17-year-old prosecuted for carrying a knife in a public place, on the very day of the knife attack that occurred at Kuben in September, pleaded guilty on Thursday morning in courtroom 418 of Oslo District Court. His transfer from the youth facility where he is being held on remand was delayed by a vehicle breakdown. He has already been sentenced twice to youth measures; the court must decide whether the sanction should be converted to a prison sentence (NRK Oslo).

Three men in their twenties were arrested on Wednesday 8 October in three different locations in Østlandet on suspicion of serious threats and aggravated illegal possession of firearms. They are known to the police and are expected to be brought before a judge for remand on Friday. The shooting involved occurred on the night of Thursday 24 September in Kværnerbyen (NRK Oslo).

Half a cat was found on Tuesday in a private garden in Stabekk, in west Oslo. Police, who have logged several similar discoveries in the area in recent weeks, are considering the possibility that it was the act of a human and are appealing for witnesses (NRK Oslo).

Sources: NRK Oslo, Aftenposten, The Local Norway — Period: 08 October 2026 and 09 October 2026