Crackdown reduces nuisance passengers from local trains in Helsinki area

Patrol squads tackle trouble in public transportation

print this

A crackdown to reduce nuisance passengers from the Finnish Railways (VR) local trains in the capital area had an impressive start. Over the weekend, patrol squads carried out over 500 tasks, two thirds of which were removals of troublemakers from trains. In other words, over 300 anti-social types had to resort to other means of transportation to reach their destinations.
      "Most problems are caused by youth gangs travelling with bagfuls of beer, but some adults also give cause to worry", says Kari Pekka Rosenholm, head of Local Traffic at VR.
     
The public transportation services in the capital area launched a zero-tolerance campaign on Friday, the aim of which is to intervene in drinking, smoking, and travelling without a valid ticket, all of which are lamentably common, especially during the weekends.
      In addition to VR, the Helsinki City Transport (HKL), the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV), the Police, the Finnish Rail Administration (RHK), and the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa are all taking part in the campaign.
      "It is high time we did something about this problem. Next year we should also have funds allocated for this function", Rosenholm explains.
      Rosenholm believes it will take a couple of weeks for visible changes to emerge.
      "It will take a short while before the message gets through that this kind of behaviour is simply no longer tolerated."
     
The patrolling will concentrate on the weekends, but weekday patrols will also be intensified.
      The patrols may include, for example, two security company FPS employees, or two ticket inspectors and one guard.
      There have been patrols before, but now the scale is totally different. Rosenholm refrains from revealing exactly how many extra patrols have been added.
      In addition to special patrols, the use of emergency buttons will also be tested at the Huopalahti and Helsinki stations this summer. A press of the button will connect the passenger in distress to the VR emergency centre. Simultaneously, a video surveillance image from the station will be transmitted to the centre.
      Further plans include the refurbishing of untidy stations.
     
HKL, in turn, commenced intensified patrolling in the tram services and the Helsinki Metro.
      "The weekend's experience was positive", confirms HKL director Seppo Vepsäläinen.
      The added patrolling was prompted by a study released in December, according to which passengers felt that insecurity had increased significantly, especially in the evening and weekend traffic.
     
According to statistics, four out of ten tram, metro, and local train passengers have faced problems. The situation is most worrying in the metro, where 43 percent of the passengers feel unsafe.


Links:
  Finnish Railways (VR)

Helsingin Sanomat