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Danish bus companies ordered to change policy on change

Bus drivers in Denmark can no longer refuse entry to passengers who want to pay for their ticket in cash on the basis that they don’t have enough change.

Danish bus companies ordered to change policy on change
Danish bus drivers can no longer turn you away for trying to pay with a 200-krone note. File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

The national ombudsman for consumers, Forbrugerombudsmanden, on Wednesday issued a ruling that means bus drivers cannot turn away cash-paying passengers if they can’t give them enough change.

That came after reported cases in which, for example, drivers have refused to accept 200-krone notes as payment for a ticket costing 26 kroner.

This was because drivers have, up to now, only accepted payments up to the nearest 100 kroner above the ticket price. In other words, the amount of change a passenger could receive was limited to 100 kroner.

But this amounts to discriminatory treatment of people who choose to pay in cash, the ombudsman said in the ruling.

Refusal of payment in this way is also in breach of Danish laws relating to the use of cash.

Bus companies must follow the ombudsman ruling and change their policies effective Wednesday, according to the ombudsman statement.

Passengers should, however, be aware that drivers may not be able to give them the correct change, the consumer rights watchdog also noted.

“Cash rules also apply on buses. There are passengers who either want or need to pay with cash and they must not be prevented from taking the bus for this reason. The laws around cash are there to protect them,” the consumer ombudsman, Christina Toftegaard Nielsen, said in the statement.

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TRANSPORT

King Frederik opens section of Denmark-Germany tunnel

The first of some 89 different elements of an 18-kilometre tunnel linking Denmark with Germany was inaugurated by King Frederik on Monday.

King Frederik opens section of Denmark-Germany tunnel

The King cut a red ribbon at a ceremony marking progress at the Femern Tunnel, which is being constructed after excavation was completed earlier this year.

The ceremony took place at the harbour at Rødby on the Danish side of the tunnel, broadcaster DR reported.

The element inaugurated on Monday comprises the first 217 metres of the tunnel and will be sunk later this year.

That represents a significant milestone according to Morten Kramer Nielsen, head of communication at the Femern A/S company which is directing the project.

“We are incredibly glad he [the King, ed.] is here. It’s the culmination of 3-4years’ work and we are marking it with the King,” he said.

It took three years to excavate the tunnel before the construction phase began, the company said in April.

“This is by far the largest excavation in Denmark’s history, and it has been a difficult task,” Pedro da Silva Jørgensen, the project’s Technical Deputy Director said at the time.

The subsoil between Denmark and Germany is a complex mixture of different soil types, with the excavators meeting huge blocks of granite left over from the Ice Age, the largest of which weighed 70 tons. 

“This has given rise to some exciting challenges along the way, which we have managed to solve in collaboration with our contractors. That is why we are happy and proud that we have now reached the goal,” Jørgensen said. 

The tunnel is 18 kilometers long, and 15 million cubic meters of sand, stone and earth have been excavated from the seabed, creating approximately 300 hectares of new land off the coast at Rødbyhavn, which will in the long term become beaches and hiking trails.

 

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