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Chairperson 2006-07: Olga Irish

LIVING IN SWEDEN

Information is offered to you by
the IWC WELCOME TO SWEDEN SUPPORT GROUP
June 2006

CONTENTS:
Driving in Sweden
Public Transport
Medical Information

DRIVING IN SWEDEN

General Information:

You can find general information by visiting www.vv.se and www.stockholmsforsoket.se Information is also provided in English.

Driving licence: If you have an EU driving licence and you are staying temporarily you do not need a dispensation. If you come from outside the EU and are here for more than 12 months you must apply for a dispensation to drive legally using your foreign licence. To apply contact: Länsstyrelsen, Körkortstillstånd, Box 22056, 104 22 Stockholm. You must always have your driving licence with you when you are driving.

To review the Swedish road and parking signs, visit www.vv.se/filer/publikationer/svenska vagmarken eng.pdf 

Buses have absolute right of way on 30 and 50km/h roads!

Pedestrians have absolute right of way at zebra crossings.

The tolerance level re drinking and driving is max. 0,2 ‰, close to ZERO.

You must drive with headlights on at all times.

Winter Constraints:

It is compulsory to have winter tyres on cars from 1st December to 30th April. Studded tyres (dubb-däck) only within this time limit. You can also have tyres without studs fitted (dubbfria däck). Many garages will change and store your tyres at a reasonable price.

In winter-time while driving on country roads or in cities, it is a good idea to carry in your car: a shovel, a small sack of sand, a snow brush, ice scrapers, lock oil (låsolja) to unfreeze the locks (never use hot water). Make sure you have anti-freeze, plenty of screen-wash fluid and jump leads too!

If you are importing your car to Sweden visit the following website: www.tullverket.se

Regular inspections are mandatory when the car is three years old, five years old and every year thereafter.

Congestion charges - trängselskatt:

The present Trängselskatt is in effect until July 31st, 2006. On September 17th, 2006 new rules may apply depending on the outcome of national elections and plebiscite.

Owners of vehicles registered in Sweden have to pay a congestion charge when driving into or out of the centre of Stockholm passing a control station: www.stockholmsforsoket.se

The charge is applied on weekdays between 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.

It varies from 10 to 15 to 20 SEK with a maximum of 60 SEK/day and car.

There is no charge on public holidays or on the day before a public holiday.

There is no charge for cars with a blue plate.

The easiest way to pay is by direct debit by ordering an electronic box, a transponder. The transponder is free of charge, distributed by the Swedish Road Administration www.vv.se.  After 31 July 2006, all transponders must be returned and deposited at a Pressbyrå or 7-Eleven store.

Parking your car:

If you do not have a driveway or a personal garage, you may be able to park for free on the road. However, in town, you can:

1. Pay for a permanent garage space. There are several car parking companies, you need to look at which ones have garages in your area. It costs an average of 1000 SEK to 1500SEK per month. It saves spending ages in the winter getting rid of snow etc. before driving off!

2. Pay for a resident permit in your city area (Boendeparkering). Once you have paid the monthly charge of 500 SEK you can park in your district for free, while respecting of course the general rules of parking. Be careful with street cleaning days: Städdag. For more information regarding residents’ permits, please contact Trafikkontoret, Box 8311, 104 20 Stockholm, tel 08 - 508 27 200 or Tekniska nämndhuset, Flemminggatan 4, BV, tel 08 - 508 263 00.

3. Pay at an automat and display your ticket clearly. This is neither the easiest nor the cheapest option.

If you are in the centre of town just for a few hours, the car park across from NK is very big and very handy. It can be approached from Regeringsgatan.

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

General Information:

All buses and trains are managed by the company SL (Stockholms Lokaltrafik). Their website is www.sl.se 

It is cheaper to buy booklets of tickets in advance (each ticket becomes 18 SEK instead of 20 SEK) at any Underground (Tunnelbana Station) and at a Pressbyrå. During one hour you can travel any distance within Stockholm's public transport system with a single 18 SEK ticket. Once stamped by the bus driver or by the underground attendant, that stamp is valid for an hour even if you change bus or underground line.

Depending on how much you use public transport it may be worthwhile buying monthly cards or season cards (Säsongskort - covers a period of four months). The cards have the advantage that you slide them through the automatic gates at the Tunnelbana Stations, thus avoiding the queue to have your coupon stamped.

A special Summer card exists too, it is a good bargain if you are staying most of the summer in Stockholm. As of 1st June 2006, you can also buy a weekly card.

All these cards are usually purchased in main SL centres like the ticket halls at T-Centralen Station. The same tickets are used on town buses and undergrounds. For more information call 08 - 600 10 00.

Taxis:

Main companies in Stockholm: Taxi Stockholm: 08 - 15 00 00

Taxi Kurir: 08 - 30 00 00

Taxi 020: 020 - 20 20 20

Taxi card: 08 - 97 00 00

Maps:

Look at the back of the Yellow pages (Gula Sidorna) or visit www.gulasidorna.se/kartor

Ask for maps at the Tourist Information Office Hamngatan 27

The book ”Atlas Över Storsstockholm” (ISBN 9158846581) is very useful.

There is a free transport map available at the SL office at the Central Station.

To and from airports:

ARLANDA, www.arlanda.se

Express train Stockholm-Arlanda: www.arlandaexpress.com 08 - 595 114 40 (about 20 minutes to the airport from City-Terminalen)

Flygbussarna: www.flygbussarna.se (takes about 40 minutes to the airport from
City-Terminalen)

SKAVSTA: www.flygbussarna.se  takes about 80 minutes from City-Terminalen,
08 - 686 10 10

BROMMA: www.flygbussarna.se takes 15 minutes

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MEDICAL INFORMATION

General Information:

Most general practitioners work through a local health centre or primary health clinic called ”Vårdcentralen (VC)”. You can find out about your nearest centre by visiting www.vardguiden.se  or by calling 08 320 100 . You can also look in the Yellow Pages (Gula Sidorna) under läkare.

Visit your local Vårdcentralen. Their admin staff will give you brochures containing lots of information about their practice, such as how to make an appointment, consultation hours depending on which consultant you need (doctor, district nurse, child welfare clinic, foot care therapists, physiotherapists etc..). It also includes telephone numbers and email addresses of doctors and nurses and more. Check their printed matter, which they often have in English!

Each area usually has a number of Barnvårdscentralen (BVC) or children’s clinics, staffed by nurses specialising in children’s health. This is a good place to go for non-urgent matters such as development tests, hearing and sight tests, vaccinations etc.

You may want to enquire about a special vaccine sometimes given in Sweden against a tick (fästing) which can be harmful to people and pets and is prevalent in Stockholm Archipelago. The tick’s bite can cause allergies or start two serious illnesses: Borelia or TBE (Tick borne Encephilitis). Pharmacies sell special pincers for removing the ticks (fästningar) and have a pamphlet on how best to deal with them.

There are also private clinics in each area of Stockholm and Health centres for physiotherapy, massage etc.. Each pharmacy will give you a very useful booklet called ”Läkare/Tandläkare” that contains a very comprehensive list of doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, naturopaths etc.. in Stockholm.

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES:

In the event of serious injury or illness, call 112 for an ambulance or call your nearest hospital with an Emergency Unit, Akut Mottagning. Here is a list of General Hospitals in the Stockholm area with Emergency Units:

Karolinska University Hospital in Solna: 08 - 517 700 00

Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge: 08 - 585 800 00

Norrtälje Hospital: 0176 - 27 50 00

Danderyd Hospital: 08 - 655 50 00

St. Görans Hospital: 08 - 587 010 00

Södersjukhuset Hospital: 08 - 616 10 00

Södertälje Hospital: 08 - 550 240 00

St. Eriks Eye Hospital: 08 - 672 30 00

Private hospitals like Sophiahemmet do not have an emergency unit.

For less acute emergencies, you can also go to City Akuten. It is right in the centre of town (just off the main intersection between Sveavägen and Kungsgatan, where you see Konserthuset,the blue building) at no.9 Olof Palme Gatan. Be aware that it is not open evenings, week-ends and bank holidays or red days.

PHARMACIES:

Apoteket Scheele, on Klarabergsgatan 64, is always open 24hrs a day. It is situated between the large department store Åhlens and the World Trade Centre, 2 minutes’ walk from T-Centralen tube station.

For information on chemists that open late on a rota basis, phone 0771 - 450 450 or visit www.apoteket.se 

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS:

There are many, a few are cited below.

Here is a short list of some of these groups. Do not hesitate to contact them as there is a good chance that someone there will speak English and will be able to help you:

The Aphasia Society in Stockholm, The Swedish Association of Asthma and Allergy Sufferers, The Society for Autism, The Association of Breast Cancer Sufferers, The Association of Coeliac Disease Sufferers, The Stockholm Diabetes Society, The Swedish Association for the Electrosensitive, The Swedish Association for the Hearing Impaired, The Swedish Association for Kidney Patients, The Stockholm Stutterers Association, The Swedish Migraine Association, The Swedish Parkinson Association... to name but a few.

Stockholms läns landsting have a Kontorsservice that will send you information material. Call 08 - 737 49 57 or email: informationsmaterial.Isf@sll.se . Amongst others, one useful book you can ask for is: ”Empowering the patient, guidelines for patients and staff”, available in English!

COST OF MEDICAL TREATMENT:

It is impossible to give very precise information on this subject. The costs vary greatly depending on one’s personal situation. One may be an EU citizen or not, have a local private insurance or not, be considered as resident or not, be reimbursed by the social security system of their country of origin or by a private insurance in Sweden or abroad etc.

Generally speaking, if you have a Swedish ID resident number with your birth date plus four numbers (not four zeros) your costs should be the same as those of a Swedish citizen. Doctors and their admitting staff will be able to explain your benefits. If you have a different type of ID number, you will probably have to depend on a private insurance.

There is a handbook available on line called Patientavgiftshandboken or Patient Fees Handbook at www.uppdragsguiden.se

DENTAL TREATMENT:

You can look under Tandläkare in the Gula Sidorna.

You can also visit these sites:

National dental services – www.ftv.sll.se

Association of private dentists – www.ptl.se

Association of dental hygienists – www.tandhygienistforening.a.se

Institute of Odontology – www.ki.se/odont/dentalcare 

There is an emergency dental care clinic at St. Görans Hospital, tel 08 - 587 026 15 and at St Erik's Hospital, tel 08 - 545 512 20.

Ask around you for dentists with a good reputation.

It is wise to compare how much different dental clinics charge for specific treatments.

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