Transport in Svalbard

Svalbard, Norway, is a vast, very sparsely inhabited Arctic archipelago. With fewer than 3,000 inhabitants in three main communities, plus some smaller meteorological and scientific outposts, there are no communities connected by road.^[1] Off-road motorized transport is prohibited on bare ground, but snowmobiles are used extensively during winter, both for commercial and recreational activities. Transport from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg (45 km or 28 mi) and Pyramiden (100 km or 62 mi) is possible by snowmobile at winter, or by ship all year round. Road systems exist within the communities of Longyearbyen, Barentsburg, Ny-Ålesund and the now-closed Sveagruva. All settlements have ports and Longyearbyen has a bus system.^[2]