Three regional transit companies canceled all ordinary Flextur rides across large parts of Denmark on Wednesday, citing extraordinary capacity problems. Bookings reopened in the early afternoon.
Sydtrafik, Midttrafik and Fynbus closed ordinary Flextur service for all of Wednesday, September 2, according to DR. Already booked trips were also canceled. The companies stated that the travel guarantee no longer applied.
Customers who selected Fynbus on the Flextur website were met with a red notice carrying the same message. DR reported that Fynbus said at 12:19 p.m. that all three companies would reopen Flextur from 1 p.m. Capacity was sufficient again by then, according to the company.
22 cars missing at Sydtrafik
Sydtrafik press officer Louise Christine Rasmussen told DR that 22 cars were missing from flex service on Wednesday. Per Sydtrafik, five operators had not offered rides as usual. She declined to say which operators were involved.
Sydtrafik contacted several of its other operators to ask whether they could make more cars available. Rasmussen emphasized that patient transport and transport for people with disabilities were not affected.
Fynbus communications consultant Mikkel Maier Henriksen wrote to DR that the three companies had chosen to prioritize the most essential rides. Those include patient transport, transport for people with disabilities and municipal transport. He said the company could not comment further at that point.
Midttrafik told DR that the problem was operators not making enough cars available for flex traffic. The company said plustur and flexbus rides continued alongside patient, disabled and municipal transport. Midttrafik also declined to name the operators involved.
Weeks of criticism
The Flextrafik scheme has faced heavy criticism over the past few weeks. DR’s consumer affairs program Kontant has devoted two broadcasts to the service. The transit companies coordinate flex traffic in their own respective areas and rely on private taxi operators to supply the cars.
The most recent Kontant episode, titled ‘De fynske flex-konger’, centered on a specific group of taxi operator companies on Funen. According to DR, those companies drive in the areas covered by Sydtrafik, Midttrafik and Fynbus.
Passengers who had booked an ordinary Flextur on Wednesday were left to look for alternative transport options during the closure. The companies apologized for the inconvenience caused by the cancellations.
