Ferry operator Molslinjen has lowered ticket prices for foot passengers on the route between Aarhus and Sjællands Odde. Fares now start at 89 kroner, after criticism of a doubling to 299 kroner.
The price cut was reported on September 9 by DR. According to the broadcaster, Molslinjen is reducing prices for passengers who board without a car, following customer criticism and a dialogue with the authorities.
Fares for foot passengers on the crossing had previously doubled to 299 kroner. Molslinjen said at the time that the rise was caused by a new method of calculating VAT on ferry tickets. Per the company, that method resulted in an extra bill of several million kroner.
A change in how tickets are sold
Jesper Maack, press and communications chief at Molslinjen, told DR that the company has changed the order in which tickets are sold. Where the operator previously sold a car ticket first, it now sells a passenger ticket first. As stated by Maack, that changes the VAT calculation and allows a separate price for foot passengers.
Ticket prices for walking passengers now begin at 89 kroner and rise from there, according to DR. The route links eastern Jutland with the Odsherred area in northwestern Zealand, and is one option for travelers on the journey from Copenhagen to Aarhus.
DR had previously reported on passengers affected by the higher fares. In one earlier story, the broadcaster described how a grandmother, Susanne, used the ferry to collect her grandchild and saw the price suddenly double.
Another of the customers who criticized the increase was Carsten Borup. He travels from Beder, south of Aarhus, to the family summer house at Sjællands Odde, and told DR he had cut back on the trips because the ticket had become expensive.
Borup said he is 75 years old and lives on the state pension, and that the fare was something he had to weigh carefully. He added that the lower price means he no longer has to think about what each trip to the summer house costs.
Criticism of the doubled fare also came from Thomas Adelskov (S), the former mayor of Odsherred Municipality. According to DR, Adelskov is a member of the regional council in Region Østdanmark.
