Carpooling rides among young people rise 73 per cent

Carpooling trips among young people have increased sharply in areas where municipalities and regions have agreements with the Nabogo platform, DR reports. A total of 268,804 trips have been completed so far this year, compared with 155,705 during the same period last year.

The increase comes as transport options in many rural areas are declining. According to an expert committee under the Transport Ministry, the number of scheduled public transport hours in rural areas has fallen by 13.4 per cent since 2016. Meanwhile, 180,000 people live more than 2.8 kilometres from the nearest bus stop.

For 19-year-old Emil Søndergaard and Malthe Emborg, carpooling has become an alternative to public transport for their journey to Tørring Gymnasium, an upper-secondary school. They regularly travel about 23 kilometres from Ejstrupholm with driver Max Tved.

“It is really great. The buses run very awkwardly,” Emil Søndergaard says. He says public transport can sometimes get him to school an hour and a half before his lesson starts.

Søndergaard also says the bus journey is slower and more expensive. From his home, the trip can cost more than 55 kroner each way, particularly when he does not have to start school at 8am.

Researcher sees potential to reverse decline

Otto Anker Nielsen, a transport researcher and professor at the Technical University of Denmark, says the growing interest in carpooling is not surprising.

He says rural public transport is caught in a vicious circle, as it becomes increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain traditional bus routes. Carpooling could help provide a service that is cheaper than bus transport while also allowing passengers to travel faster and more frequently, he says.

According to the professor’s own calculations, up to 80 per cent of public transport journeys in rural areas could be covered if just 10 per cent of motorists offered carpooling.

The Central Denmark Region has completed a two-year carpooling trial and considers the scheme a success. Drivers receive a subsidy of 10 kroner per passenger on trips longer than 10 kilometres.

“Carpooling has great potential,” says Lene Jørgensen, a team leader in Mobility and Administration at the region’s Regional Development department. She says the trial showed steadily increasing use at almost all upper-secondary and vocational education institutions.

The region has now decided to invest a further four million kroner in carpooling.

For Malthe Emborg, the main benefit is saving time. He says carpooling gives him more time in the morning and is more flexible than walking to a bus stop. He estimates that he saves up to half an hour.