A card reader at the metro station in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, in January 2023. Helsinki Region Transport on Tuesday announced it is raising public transport fares by an average of eight per cent in 2025, after an unsuccessful attempt to increase passenger volumes by cutting the fares for this year. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)
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FARE CUTS by Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) have not yielded the desired results, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Helsingin Sanomat on Monday reported that the political decision to cut fares in the capital region by five per cent at the start of this year has failed to result in an increase in passenger volumes that would make the cut financially sustainable.
Mari Fink, a director at HSL, confirmed to the newspaper that the fare cut implemented for this year has not boosted passenger numbers sufficiently. The joint municipal authority has registered an increase of 20 million in journeys, but roughly a fifth of the increase is attributable primarily to population growth.
The increase falls well short of the expectations baked into the budget of HSL for 2024. The authority is on track to overdraw its budget by 40.4 million euros, while the expectation was that a surplus this year would offset the 38-million-euro deficit in its budget for 2025.
The financial difficulties stem from the proliferation of remote and hybrid forms of work during the coronavirus pandemic, a shift that could not be undone to a sufficient even with the fare cut.
“Our market analyses show that an increase in in-person work would increase demand for public transport,” said Fink.
HSL is therefore set to raise its fares across the board by 7–9 per cent, with the value-added tax raise adopted earlier this year responsible for up to four-fifths of the hikes.
For example, the price of a single journey across two zones would rise from 2.95 to 3.20 euros, a journey across three zones from 4.10 to 4.40 euros and a journey across four zones from 4.50 to 4.80 euros. A 10-journey ticket covering two zones will cost 28.80 instead of 26.55 euros, while a seasonal ticket covering two zones will cost 72.10 instead of 66.60 euros and a seasonal ticket covering three zones 107.70 instead of 99.40 euros.
HSL published the planned fare changes on Tuesday.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
