Transport ministry expected to fund travel card rollout on Bornholm

Transport Ministeriet is expected to reserve three million kroner to introduce the Rejsekort travel card system on Bornholm, according to DR. The final decision has not yet been published.

Since 2012, passengers across almost all of Denmark have been able to check in and out using Rejsekort, but the system has not been introduced on Bornholm. Residents and visitors have instead used options including punch cards, cash and the Rejsebillet app for bus journeys.

The card was first introduced as a pilot project in 2008, and had replaced punch cards in several parts of the country by 2015. The cost of establishing the system has repeatedly prevented its introduction on Bornholm.

In late July, the Transport Ministry allocated 100 million kroner to the country’s transport companies. Bornholm politicians Anne Thomas and Lea Wermelin expect three million kroner from the fund to be reserved for introducing Rejsekort on the island.

“This is really good news for Bornholm. I am so happy,” said Thomas, who chairs the Environment and Business Committee in Bornholm Regional Municipality.

She added that residents could expect to receive the funding, but that it was not yet certain.

Wermelin, a Social Democratic member of parliament, said Bornholm residents should have access to the same solution as the rest of Denmark.

“It is only fair that the state now appears ready to take responsibility for the establishment costs,” she said.

The final rules for distributing the fund have not been published. It is also unclear whether the physical basic card will be introduced on Bornholm.

Bornholm Regional Municipality expects the details to be sufficiently clear for the necessary fares to be set during its budget negotiations for 2027.