Region Midtjylland has completed a two-year carpooling trial for students at youth education institutions and will put a further 4 million kroner into the scheme. Use of the carpooling platform Nabogo has risen 73 percent this year.
DR reports that new travel habits are spreading quickly among young people in rural Denmark. The broadcaster followed driver Max Tved, who picks up 19-year-old students Emil Søndergaard and Malthe Emborg in Ejstrupholm. The trip to Tørring Gymnasium is about 23 kilometers and they have made it many times.
According to figures from Nabogo cited by DR, 268,804 carpool trips have been completed so far this year. In the same period last year, the number was 155,705. Growth is strongest in the parts of the country where regions and municipalities have agreements with the company.
Region Midtjylland has just finished its two-year trial and assesses it as a success. Lene Jørgensen, team leader in Mobility and Staff in Regional Development, told DR that carpooling has significant potential. She said use grew steadily at almost all the youth education institutions involved.
Four million kroner for the next school year
The region has therefore decided to invest an additional 4 million kroner in carpooling. dknyt adds that the money covers the 2026/27 school year and targets education sites with poor access to public transport. As reported by dknyt, the region is focusing on institutions where mobility problems risk affecting completion of youth education.
Under the trial, drivers were supported with 10 kroner per passenger on trips over 10 kilometers, DR reports. A press release from Region Midtjylland in February 2026, distributed via Ritzau, described an earlier package of 3.27 million kroner for carpooling. According to that release, the money was split between digital meeting points and analysis, and a two-year campaign aimed at students.
The trend coincides with fewer transport options in many rural districts. DR cites the Transport Ministry’s expert committee, which found that timetable hours in rural areas have fallen by 13.4 percent since 2016. The same committee found that 180,000 residents live more than 2.8 kilometers from the nearest stop.
Otto Anker Nielsen, transport researcher and professor at the Technical University of Denmark, told DR that rural public transport is caught in a vicious circle. He said carpooling is cheaper than bus service and often faster, with higher frequency. Per his own calculations, up to 80 percent of rural public transport trips could be covered if 10 percent of drivers offered lifts.
For the students, the gains are time and money. Emil Søndergaard told DR the bus connections are awkward, sometimes leaving him at school 90 minutes early, and that the fare costs more than 55 kroner each way. Malthe Emborg said he saves up to half an hour in the morning, and that driving is more flexible than walking to a bus.
