Number of ticketless riders growing in Helsinki public transport

City of Helsinki loses EUR 6 million per year in potential ticket revenue to fare-dodgers

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Despite increased inspections, the share of fare-dodgers within the City of Helsinki public transport system is growing. According to the official records, the share of riders without a valid ticket was 3.6 percent of all passengers in the course of last year. Actually, the share is even larger.
      "Five percent of all passengers ride without a ticket, while 95 percent of the passengers pay the valid fare", says Planning Chief Seppo Vepsäläinen from Helsinki City Transport (HKL).
     
In order to put an end to non-ticket journeys, municipal politicians led by the Helsinki public transport committee have started putting pressure on HKL. Maija Anttila, the chairman of the SDP group at the City Council, has gone so far as to link up the size of the city's subsidy to the number of unpaid fares HKL manages to claw back. Moreover, the fewer the number of fare-dodgers, the less there is pressure to increase the ticket tariffs.
      Because of ticketless passengers, HKL loses around EUR 6 million per year in unpaid fares. The largest number of all non-ticket riders is found among underground and tram passengers.
      According to Seppo Vepsäläinen's "educated guess", intensified ticket inspections could decrease the amount of lost fares by some 1.5 to 2 million euros.
     
Jessica Karhu (Green), the chair of the public transport committee, would like to increase the number of ticket inspectors. In her view, even the salaries and working conditions of the inspectors should be improved. Karhu believes that the risk of getting caught or the number of inspectors as well as cheaper fares would motivate young passengers to pay for their rides. Nevertheless, "under the current economic circumstances" she whould not propose a reduction of fares.
      Some 25 percent of the posts of inspectors are vacant, says Sanna Hirvi, head of ticket inspection operations at HKL. A new course to train more inspectors is to be launched later this year, reports Hirvi.
      "If the number of inspectors was increased and the collection procedures for fines and penalty fares were intensified, the ticket inspection operation would be more profitable", Karhu argues.
     
While there is a shortage of inspectors, the efficiency of the present inspectors has improved.
      The number of inspections grew by 20 percent last year. While the number of penalty fares was 24,000 in 2004, last year the number of those slapped with a penalty fare was already 28,000.
      On the other hand, the actual number of passengers caught without a valid ticket was larger, but for various reasons, some 30 percent of them avoided penalty fares.
     
Even the introduction of security barriers has been considered for underground stations to prevent fare dodging. Currently, HKL is testing a barrier system at the Sörnäinen metro station to see if the gates would work at other stations as well.
      The installation of permanent gates at all of Helsinki's metro stations would be expensive. Moreover, the ticket system should be reformed as well, as for example the present card readers do not recognise single tickets.
      On the other hand, the gate system would increase the security of metro passengers.
     
HKL's proposal to amend the law on penalty fees of public transport so that riding without a ticket would become a criminal offence was not passed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Instead, the maximum amount of the penalty fare in Helsinki is likely to increase to EUR 88 from the current EUR 66.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Barrier gates at Sörnäinen Metro station remain open most of the time (7.3.2005)
  HKL wants to see fare-dodgers in court (5.1.2004)

Links:
  Helsinki City Transport

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