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Passenger Assistance Training in Denmark: The BAB Course

What passenger assistance and patient transport driver training covers in Denmark: BAB modules, entry rules, renewal, funding for jobseekers and employers.

Af Votra Danmark30. oktober 2026

If you want to drive passengers who need help getting in, out and around, the training you need in Denmark is called BAB, short for befordring af bevægelseshæmmede (transporting people with reduced mobility). It is a short vocational course, not a degree, and most Danish transport authorities require it for drivers in public service transport, known as Flextrafik. This guide explains what BAB covers, who can take it, how often it must be renewed, how it is paid for and where it stops: it does not make you an ambulance clinician.

TL;DR

  • BAB is the Danish passenger assistance course for drivers in public service transport (Flextrafik). Most Danish transport authorities require it.
  • It starts with three modules: BAB 1 (1 day), BAB 2 (2 days) and BAB 3 (2 days). BAB 1 and BAB 2 must be refreshed every five years.
  • It is an AMU course, so you get a training certificate for each completed course. Jobseekers go through the job centre or unemployment fund, not through self-enrolment.
  • Votra Danmark offers BAB (Flextrafik) and evacuation chair training. See the course overview.

Table of Contents

What passenger assistance training is, and what it is not

People search for this under several names: passenger assistance, patient transport driver, Flextrafik driver. In Denmark the common thread is the same. A driver collects people who cannot use ordinary buses or taxis on their own: elderly passengers, people with a physical disability, people who are ill and travel to hospital or treatment. The driver is responsible for the journey and for the person’s safety and dignity on it.

The BAB course is built for exactly that job. According to the competence requirements for Flextrafik drivers, it covers the legal framework for public service transport, illness and ageing, first aid, raising the alarm, fire fighting, evacuation and operating aids such as lifts and stair machines.

It does not give you medical authority. A patient transport driver gets passengers safely from A to B and can act in an emergency until help arrives. Providing treatment during transport belongs to ambulance and emergency medical training, which is a separate educational path with its own requirements. If treating patients is your goal, ask a regional ambulance service or a Danish education adviser at UddannelsesGuiden about that route before you plan around BAB.

What passenger assistance training is, and what it is not

What the BAB modules cover

The programme begins with three courses, as described in the same competence document:

Module Title in English Length
BAB 1 Introduction to public service transport 1 day
BAB 2 Transporting passengers weakened by illness or age 2 days
BAB 3 Transporting passengers with physical disabilities 2 days

In practice that means roughly five days of training before you start. Here is what each module is for.

BAB 1: how public service transport works

This is the orientation day. You learn the rules and structure around public service transport: who orders the trip, who pays, what the transport authority expects from you and what your obligations are towards passengers. Many drivers underestimate this part, yet it is where you learn why a booking, a pick-up time or a refusal is handled the way it is.

BAB 2: passengers who are ill or frail

This module deals with illness and age-related frailty. Expect topics such as how common conditions affect a passenger during a trip, how to communicate with someone who is confused or anxious, and what to do if a passenger becomes unwell. First aid and alarm procedures belong here too.

BAB 3: passengers with physical disabilities

BAB 3 is hands-on. It covers helping passengers who use wheelchairs or other aids, and operating the equipment that makes it possible: vehicle lifts and stair machines. It also covers securing the passenger and the aid in the vehicle, and evacuating the vehicle if something goes wrong.

Instructor demonstrating wheelchair lift securement during training

Some training providers split this module by equipment, with separate parts for lift vehicles and stair machines. Check which version your employer or transport authority expects before you book.

Who can take the course

BAB is part of the Danish AMU system (arbejdsmarkedsuddannelser, labor market training). AMU is aimed at skilled and unskilled workers, and to take an AMU course you must live in Denmark and/or have steady employment here.

There is no academic entry requirement in the research we reviewed. In practice, though, the working side has its own conditions. A Flextrafik employer will normally ask for a valid driving licence and will want to know that you can communicate with passengers. Because passengers are often elderly or vulnerable, you should also expect questions about your background and references. Ask the employer or the transport authority for their exact list. The course itself does not replace those checks.

Language matters more than people expect. Some of the course content is about talking with frightened or confused passengers, and about understanding instructions from dispatch and healthcare staff. If your Danish is still developing, ask the provider in advance which language the course is taught in.

How long it takes and what you receive

An AMU course lasts between half a day and six weeks, and every completed course gives you a training certificate (uddannelsesbevis). BAB sits at the short end: one or two days per module. Because AMU courses are short and can be taken one by one or combined, you can fit them around a job or a period of unemployment.

Keep every certificate. Employers and transport authorities ask for them, and you will need them again when the renewal date arrives.

Renewal: the five-year rule

The qualification does not last forever. BAB 1 and BAB 2 must be refreshed every five years. Put the date in your calendar when you receive the certificate. Employers who run several drivers should track the dates for the whole team, because a driver whose training has lapsed may not be allowed on Flextrafik routes.

The requirement itself comes from the transport authorities, not from one national law that applies identically everywhere. The research states that most authorities demand BAB, not all. So before you invest in training, check what the authority you want to drive for actually asks for.

Who pays: jobseekers, employees and employers

This is where a short course can become very cheap or very expensive, depending on your situation.

If you are unemployed

You cannot sign yourself up for AMU. If you are on unemployment benefit, cash benefit or similar, you must contact the job centre or your unemployment fund. If you are in the target group, you can in principle get six weeks of free AMU training as a starting point.

There is a second route. Through the regional training pool, jobseekers can get short, job-targeted courses if the municipality approves a course on the positive list, or approves a written agreement with an employer about employment for at least three months. A written job promise from a Flextrafik operator can therefore open the door to the course.

Bring a concrete plan to the job centre: which course, why, and which employers hire drivers with it.

If you are employed

Participant payment for AMU is set each year. In 2026 it is 218 DKK per day, and there can be a supplement of up to 180 DKK per day. Courses in education and in social and health care are free, but do not assume BAB falls under that. Ask the provider what you will actually pay.

If you lose wages while attending, you or your employer may be able to claim support. Employees who lose pay during the course, and self-employed people, can apply for VEU allowance if the conditions are met, including employment with the same employer for 14 days around the course. It is paid for at most 37 hours a week, and for a total of 10 weeks of course within the same calendar year. Employees covered by a collective agreement may also be able to get a grant from a competence fund.

If you are an employer

The fair question is not only what the course costs but what an untrained driver costs you: a driver who cannot be scheduled on Flextrafik routes. Use the joint competence descriptions (fælles kompetencebeskrivelser, FKBs), which contain the details of the AMU programmes, to decide which modules each role needs. A dispatcher needs different things than a driver who operates the stair machine.

Perspective: what we see when drivers start out

At Votra we work with people who are entering Danish transport from very different directions: new drivers, drivers moving from taxi or van work, and people who want to start their own business. Our experience is that passenger assistance is the area where the gap between a certificate and real competence is the most visible. You can pass a one-day module and still freeze the first time a passenger in a wheelchair needs strapping into a lift vehicle in the rain.

So our advice is practical. Choose a course with real equipment and time to practice on it. Ask the operator who will hire you whether they run their own introduction in the first week. And treat the five-year renewal as part of the job, not as paperwork.

There is also a business angle that few people mention. Many drivers who start in Flextrafik later want to run their own vehicle under contract. That is a different step, with its own education and with bookkeeping, VAT and payroll attached. It is better to know this early than to discover it when the first invoice is due.

— Jamal Mahjoub

Where Votra fits in

Votra Danmark offers BAB (Flextrafik) and evacuation chair training among its transport courses, alongside van driver, taxi and haulier programs. We do not publish a price for BAB, so check the current course details and dates on the course overview page or ask us directly.

Votra

If passenger transport is a step toward a bigger plan, these pages are the natural next stops:

If you already run a transport company and need help with bookkeeping, payroll and monitoring of driver documents and deadlines, our sister company Votra Business ApS handles that under Votra Business.

How to choose a course and get started

  1. Find out who you will drive for. Ask the transport authority or operator which BAB modules they require. Most want BAB, but the details differ.
  2. Decide how you will pay. Unemployed: call the job centre or the unemployment fund first. Employed: ask your employer about wage compensation, VEU allowance and competence funds before you register.
  3. Check the format and language. Ask whether the course is classroom-based, which language it is taught in and how much of it is practical.
  4. Book the modules in order. BAB 1, then BAB 2, then BAB 3, unless the provider says otherwise.
  5. File the certificates and note the renewal date. Five years for BAB 1 and BAB 2.

FAQ

Do I need BAB to drive patients in Denmark?

For public service transport (Flextrafik), most Danish transport authorities require it, according to the competence requirements for these drivers. Not all of them do, so ask the one you want to work for. Private patient transport contracts may set their own rules.

How long does the course take?

The three starting modules take one, two and two days, so about five days in total. Each AMU course gives you a training certificate when you complete it.

Can I sign up for the course myself if I am unemployed?

Not through AMU. You must go through the job centre or your unemployment fund, which decides whether the course is approved. Via the regional training pool, a written offer of at least three months’ employment can also support an application.

Is a patient transport driver the same as an ambulance worker?

No. A patient transport driver drives and assists passengers, with first aid and evacuation skills for emergencies. Ambulance staff follow a separate medical education that allows them to treat patients. If that is your goal, contact a regional ambulance service about the route.

How often must I renew BAB?

BAB 1 and BAB 2 must be refreshed every five years. Check the date on your certificate and book the update well before it runs out.

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