Helsinki City Transport to cut ticket prices in May

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The prices of most types of public transport tickets will go down on Helsinki’s internal routes from the beginning of May.
      Prices of trips taken on travel cards will go down by an average of nearly ten per cent, while single tickets will be about seven per cent cheaper.
      The aim will be to encourage Helsinki residents to favour the electronic travel card.
     
“The situation is historic; ticket prices have not been cut in Helsinki in several decades”, says planning director Ville Lehmuskoski of Helsinki City Transport (HKL).
      Although no final seal has been put on the price cut, its implementation is nearly a foregone conclusion, as the plan has the support of political decision-makers.
     
After the change, the owner of a travel card will pay EUR 1.65 for a single ride, whereas the buyer of a single ticket will have to pay the driver EUR 2.50.
      The price structure will favour the use of travel cards; reports indicate that this would be the best way to increase the use of public transport.
      HKL expects that the changes will lead to an increase in the use of public transport by about 660,000 more rides a year.
      “A travel card should be a basic necessity of everyone in Helsinki”, Ville Lehmuskoski says.
     
The cut in fares was made possible by a state grant of EUR 5 million for urban public transport.
      Helsinki is to get EUR 2 million from the total sum. The government is expected to decide on the grants sometime this month.
      The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) decided at the beginning of the year on similar changes in ticket pricing on routes inside Espoo and Vantaa, in anticipation of state subsidies.
     
After Helsinki’s move, the prices of public transport fares within each of the three cities will be approximately the same.
      HKL will use EUR 753,000 of the state support to cut fares, and the rest will be used for increases in bus transport and supervision.
      Revenue from ticket sales is expected to come down this year by about EUR 750,000 in Helsinki.
     
The state subsidy is small compared with how much the City of Helsinki is spending on the deal.
      This year the city is spending EUR 118 million to support public transport. This is about ten million more than last year.


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  Helsinki City Transport

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