What's in a name? Tampere bus sparks language row
The English term "plusbus" won a public competition, but Tampere's transport operator quietly changed the name to the more Finnish-sounding "plusbussi".
A recent naming controversy has emerged in the Finnish city of Tampere surrounding a new super bus service. The decision to christen the electric articulated buses "plusbus" has ignited a debate over the use of English-language terms versus their Finnish equivalents. The city's transportation operator, Nysse, announced the service's name via a public naming competition in spring.
However, the Institute for the Languages of Finland, an official government agency responsible for promoting Finnish and Swedish language usage, raised concerns about the bus's name not being in Finnish, thus falling afoul of Finnish language laws.
The Institute for the Languages of Finland, or Kotus in Finnish, highlighted the issue on a Facebook post in April. Kotus serves as Finland's official language authority and advocates for the use of Finnish and Swedish languages. Following the post, Nysse seemed to address the concern by quietly updating the bus's name to "plusbussi" on its Finnish-language website.
In an email to Yle, a Finnish public broadcasting service, Nysse spokesperson Hanne Tamminen clarified the company's intentions behind the name change. Tamminen explained that the firm sought a more neutral name to ensure compliance with all sections and recommendations concerning language laws. The new superbuses, or plusbusses, will commence running routes in Tampere from August 2028.
The electric articulated buses are designed to blend the smoothness of a tram with the flexibility of a conventional bus, according to Nysse's website.
Written by urgent.news from Yle News Finland's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
