Longer travel routes, fewer trips home, cost cutting… Students in Aarhus are coming up with alternatives to figure out how to keep their travel economic yet effective after DSB announced an average of 10% increase in ticket prices.
Reporting by Ahsan Bari, Halime Akturk, Gaia Guatri, Nibras Ahmed and Simran Ahuja
Come January and students in the city of smiles may not be feeling too happy about using trains since Danish national rail operator DSB has announced an increase (averaging 10%) in prices.
For Denise Kalkbrenne, an international student at Aarhus University, this would mean fewer trips back home to Germany. “I already spend around 500 Danish Krone (DKK) for a trip. If the prices increase, I don’t think I will visit my family or friends that often,” she says.
Denmark’s second biggest city, Aarhus – famously known to be a college town in the country – is home to many young residents, who often use the trains to travel back home.
For another student, Sigurd Smith, this means (currently) shelling out 300 DKK for a trip to Fredensborg to meet his parents. With new rates kicking in from January, this trip could potentially burn a steep hole in his wallet.
“The economic factor of the price is already something I have to consider. So if it increases, I won’t be able to visit my family as often,” says Smith.
The tariff increase ceiling is this year calculated on the basis of the cost level for the sector in 2022, which was a period characterized by high inflation and rising energy prices.
– DSB press statement
According to a statement by Din Offerentlige Transport (DOT), “The price of commuter cards for long journeys will not become more expensive. On average, prices will increase by 10.3% in January 2024.”
Smith, in fact, was not aware of the upcoming increase and is now wondering if he needs to jiggle the budget he allocates to his groceries to make way for train travel. “It’s just faster and has more room than a bus,” he adds.
Lack of clarity around the prices was common with other students too. In fact, a DSB authority we reached out to at the booth in Aarhus Central Station had also not heard about the increase and refused to comment on it.
Upon learning about this, Julie Sostack, who uses the train once a month to go to West Jutland, has been reevaluating her route. In an attempt to “outsmart the system” to get lower priced tickets, Sostack is considering a longer journey. “Usually I’d spend 2.5 hours to go to Viborg and 170 DKK. But now, I might add Viejle as a stop, which is in the South, and would increase my travel time to 3.5 hours,” she says.
The reason Sostack is doing this is to take advantage of DSB’s Orange tickets that offer lower prices. Taking a direct route would mean having to use an Arriva train, which would cost Sostack 170 DKK (and prices are slated to go up in January). But going through Viejle, DSB Orange ticket (if booked well in advance) will cost her 70 DKK. “It’s longer but what else can I do?” she says.
According to a press statement by DSB, “The Danish Transport Agency sets a ceiling each year for how much prices in public transport may increase. The tariff increase ceiling is this year calculated on the basis of the cost level for the sector in 2022, which was a period characterized by high inflation and rising energy prices.”
