Travelling with public transport
Problem med resa i kollektivtrafiken - Engelska
If you are affected by delays or cancelled journey in public transport, such as when travelling with the metro, tram and city bus, you may be entitled to compensation.
Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Before reading:
Here, you will find information on what applies when you travel by metro, tram and city bus, for example.
If you travelled farther by bus or train (more than 150 km), you will find information on the pages on bus and train travel.
More information on bus travel
More information on train travel
Delayed or cancelled journey
If your journey with public transport is delayed by at least 20 minutes, you can demand compensation. You have a right to get back:
50% of the ticket price if the journey is delayed by more than 20 minutes
75% of the ticket price if the journey is delayed by more than 40 minutes
100% of the ticket price if the journey is cancelled or delayed by more than 60 minutes
In order to get compensation for a delayed or cancelled journey, you contact the travel company, preferably in writing, and present your demands.
No damages due to delayed travel
If the delayed or cancelled journey with public transport means that you cannot go to work, you cannot claim damages for loss of work income. Nor can you claim damages if you missed an event or the like due to delays in public transport.
If you have to arrange your own transportation because your planned journey was delayed or cancelled, you can demand compensation from the travel company. But you are obliged to keep the costs down to the extent possible. The compensation you demand shall correspond to the cost of the actual transportation, but not exceed 1/40 price base amount, which is around SEK 1313 in 2023.
Cancel or rebook a ticket
When you buy a ticket for a journey, you have no legal right of withdrawal. This means that you cannot change your mind about the purchase and get your money back. Nor can you demand to rebook the trip.
Time-based passes and changed timetables
If you have a time-based pass with a travel company that made major changes to its timetable, you may be entitled to revoke the purchase of the time-based pass, which means getting your money back. What “major changes” are is assessed on a case-by-case basis. If the changes mean that you can no longer use your pass, contact the travel company and tell them why you want to revoke the purchase.
Present a valid ticket or pay a surcharge
When you travel by public transport, it is your responsibility to present a valid ticket for the entire journey. If you cannot do so, the travel company can demand that you pay a surcharge or ask you to disembark.
Even when you travel with, for example, an SMS ticket, you are obliged to be able to present a valid ticket during the entire journey. If your telephone for some reason does not work, you may need to pay a surcharge.
The size of the surcharge can vary, but must be stated by the company’s travel terms and conditions.
If you think that you have been issued an incorrect surcharge, you can contact the company’s customer service to find out how you can appeal. The main rule is that you are obliged to pay the surcharge if you cannot present a valid ticket.
Source: Konsumentverket
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