Fosen Trafikklag

Establishment

Fosen Trafikklag AS was founded on 14 December 1957 as a merger between seven transport companies in Sør-Trøndelag: Fosen Dampskipsselskap, Fosenferja, Fosenhalvøya Billag, Frosta Dampskibsselskab, Frøya Billag, Hitra Billag and Stadsbygd Trafikkselskap. The company became operational on 1 January 1958.

Frosta Dampskipsselskap was by far the largest of the merging companies, and also held singificant ownership positions in the three bus companies. In the early 1950s they had made large investments in four new ships, and were short on cash for investments. Just as important, the management still believed that ship transport would dominate Fosen for the forseable future, given the poor standard of the roads on Fosenhalvøya. In the build up to establish a road ferry crossing of the Trondheimsfjord, Fosen Dampskipsselskap was given several opportunities to operate the ferry, but turned these down. Instead, a new company, Fosenferja, was established to operate the route, which commenced on 28 May 1955.

Realities proved Fosen Dampskipsselskap wrong. Freight on their motorliners was halved in 1956. For business in Leksvik Municipality, Trondheim was suddenly an hour away, instead of a lazy service every other day. Fosenhalvøya Billag reorganized their routes, and terminated them at Vanvikan instead of the old steamship quay at Kvithyll, dramatically reducing ridership on Fosen's ships.

The decisive force in the merger was Sør-Trøndelag County Municipality. The county council had created a board to evaluate the need for mergers amongst transport companies, and it concluded that there was a need for a merger. The county council, consisting of all 49 mayors in the county, voted on 11 May 1957 to force through a merger. It was finalized in an annual meeting in Fosen Dampskipsselskap on 14 December 1957, when 197 share-owners met and voted to approve the merger.

The former offices of Fosen Dampskipsselskap were too small for the new company. On 20 April 1961, the company could therefor move in to a new 640-square-meter (6,900 sq ft) office building on the Fosen Quay in downtown Trondheim, next to quay used by their ships. This quay was situated on the canal next to Trondheim Central Station.