Last year, only 0.2 percent of journeys on buses in eastern Denmark, which includes the Capital Region, were interrupted by an inspector checking to see if the passengers were holding a valid ticket. 

However, that tiny fraction still resulted in nearly 15,000 passengers being handed fines worth nearly 11 million kroner.

“It is a problem we take seriously,” bus operator Movia spokesperson Søren Englund told Metroxpress. “We caught 14,700 riders without a ticket. One can always discuss whether we need to check more, but we’ll never be able to catch every cheater.”

So many riders, so little time
The busiest lines are the ones with the most cheats.

“It's a bit of a dilemma, because there are often 50 buses coming and going at any one time,” said Englund. “Drivers have split seconds to check each ticket, and cheaters can be very creative. It would take half an hour for them to examine everything from A to Z.”

READ MORE: Bus inspectors to wear body-cameras

Many passengers try to cheat using fake SMSs and other digital tickets. Englund warned that getting caught using that dodge carries with it a forgery charge, a criminal record and a 6,000 kroner fine.