Two years later though, the Labour Party had definitively changed its side in the tram debate, and chose an alliance with the Conservatives, creating a Labour-Conservative alliance with Anne-Kath. Parow (Labour) as mayor and Axel Bush as vice-mayor. In 1982, the future of the tram line was again taken up in the city council, and this time the Socialist Left Party (SV) chose to support closure of the tram lines. The first time the decision was taken in the council, SV chose to support the closure, preventing two of its members from voting against. But then the tram's future was the subject of a second vote, and the two disagreeing members of SV chose to vote against the closure of the tram line, and thus the city council voted to keep the trams, with 44 vs. 41 votes. The city council decided at the same time to build a new depot at Munkvoll and purchase 11 new trams, at a cost of NOK 100 million. The opposition claimed that it would be cheaper to operate the line with diesel buses. But the compromise also meant that the least robust part of the tramway was to be discontinued, thus the only line to survive was Lian-Lade. The line to Elgeseter was closed in 1983.