Travel smoothly in Helsinki and its region English
According to the surveys the residents of the etropolitan area appreciate their area s traffic services. Kerava The modal shares of public transport in Helsinki traffic 2006 Vantaa Kauniainen Helsinki Kirkkonummi Espoo Three-zone extended regional ticket Two-zone extended regional ticket Trams 24,1 % Buses (including Helsinki internal trips with regional buses) 40,1 % The metro 26 % Helsinki internal trips with VR commuter trains 9,1% The Suomenlinna ferry 0,7% Regional ticket for YTV area The modal shares of public transport in the etropolitan area traffic ap of the regional ticket area: Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa, Kerava and Kirkkonummi. The Helsinki region has for a long time been one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe. The area produces 33% of the country s gross domestic product and is home to 24% of the country s total population and 29% of its jobs. Today the Helsinki region has some 1,25 million inhabitants. Since 1975, the population has increased by nearly 340 000. Satisfied passengers Trams 18% Buses 50% Train 14% The metro 16% About 850 000 journeys are made daily in the Helsinki region on buses, trams, the metro, commuter trains and the Suomenlinna ferry. Helsinki internal traffic itself covers 40 per cent of trips made yearly on public transport in Finland. The residents of the etropolitan area appreciate their area s traffic services. The public transport in the Helsinki region receives high marks in frequent customer satisfaction surveys and in the Best-comparison between European cities. Of all the public transport services passengers are the most satisfied with rail services. About one half of all the public transport trips are still, however, made by bus. There are two organisations responsible for the planning and procuring of public transport services. Helsinki City Transport (HKL) plans and provides metro and tram traffic and puts out to tender bus transport services in Helsinki. Helsinki etropolitan Area Council (YTV) is responsible for the procuring of regional bus services and the Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Kerava bus services and for putting out to tender the etropolitan area bus services, with the exception of Helsinki internal traffic. All the bus traffic of the etropolitan area has been put out to tender. The VR Group, of which YTV purchases commuter train services, is responsible for commuter train traffic. What does it cost? Tram 0,40 euros The metro 0,09 euros Train 0,13 euros Bus, internal 0,24 euros Bus, regional 0,16 euros In 2005 HKL s Planning Unit calculated how much it costs to transport a passenger one kilometre with different modes of transportation.
Using Travel Card and mobile phone The public transport s share of all the trips in Helsinki city centre on weekdays in 2006 was 62,2 per cent. During the rush hour the share of public transport is higher; approximately 70 per cent of those arriving to the Helsinki city centre use the public transport. Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, Kerava and Kirkkonummi constitute a uniform regional ticket area. The regional ticket system has been in use for well over 20 years in the Helsinki region. Fare pricing is based on zones which are determined by municipal boundaries. An internal ticket entitles you to travel within one city. A regional ticket allows you to travel within four cities (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa). A two-zone extended regional ticket allows travel in Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa, Kerava and Kirkkonummi. A three-zone extended regional ticket entitles you to travel within the whole area, i.e. all six municipalities. A common Travel Card has been in full use since 2002. The electronic Travel Card can be loaded either with a period ticket (time) or value (money). The card can be loaded in about 300 kiosks and other sales points. Internationally assessed, the Helsinki region Travel Card system is one of the most successful and extensive contactless card systems that was planned and realized in the 1990s. Over a million Travel Cards have been sold so far. HKL was the first in the world to introduce a mobile phone ticket in 2002. Getting a ticket with an SS has turned out to be popular. For now, only HKL single tickets are available by mobile phone, but in the future other tickets will most likely be available, too. Over 112 million SS tickets had been sold by late winter 2007. Ticket revenues cover approximately half of the total costs of public transport. The public transport deficit in the Helsinki region is distributed between the municipalities according to the public transport trips made by residents of each municipality.
By bus in the feeder line traffic The main direction of the etropolitan area bus traffic is to the west and to the north from Helsinki city centre. The present metro line is built toward Eastern Helsinki and the bus traffic along the metro line is mainly feeder line traffic. Also the bus lines in Central and Northern Espoo are feeder lines. Their interchange terminal on trips toward Helsinki is Leppävaara terminal in Espoo. The goal is that more and more trips in the inner city would be made on trams and the metro. The use of commuter trains is also promoted among passengers from outside of Helsinki city centre by increasing the share of feeder line traffic along the city railways. At present YTV is preparing a plan for increasing feeder line traffic within the city of Vantaa. New ideas have been searched also for developing the bus traffic. In the autumn of 2006 a crosstown bus line known as Jokeri Line began operating, which is the most significant of the reforms. In Jokeri Line, which according to the original plan was going to be a railway line, a dense and regular traffic is united with good interchange connections, high-class buses and a personal visual expression. Jokeri Line has been awarded both the Construction Engineering Work of the Year-prize for the high-class combination of planning and engineering work, and the Fennia Prize 2007 in the field of design for the line s controlled and distinctly perceivable visual expression. The operation of the Jokeri buses is facilitated by traffic signal priority based upon GPS satellite positioning. At some of the stops the information about the arrival of the next bus is real time information based upon satellite positioning. In 2006 there were 78,5, million bus By metro to the east surveys of different modes of transportation. The passengers are especially satisfied with the rapidity, punctuality and short intervals of the metro. trips made in the internal traffic of Helsinki and 46,2 million trips made in regional bus traffic. ore and more trips are made with regional buses also within Helsinki. In 2006 there were approximately 9,2 million internal trips made with regional buses in Helsinki. In 2006 there were 13,2 million bus trips made in the internal traffic of Espoo and 11,9 million in Vantaa. The metro will be extended to the west over the border of the city of Helsinki, when the track from Ruoholahti via Lauttasaari to atinkylä will be completed in the middle of the 2010s. HKL is also planning a metro line to Töölö and one to the airport. The northernmost metro in the world operates from Ruoholahti via Itäkeskus to ellunmäki and Vuosaari. The line with its 17 stations is approximately 21 kilometres long. The newest station, Kalasatama, was opened 1 January 2007. It is hard to imagine the traffic in Eastern Helsinki without the orange metro that has been in use for 25 years. The city residents are used to taking the metro in the city centre, too. The metro always receives the highest marks in HKL s customer satisfaction HKL has 54 metro car pairs in use. There are 42 metro car pairs of the 100 series that have served since the beginning of the metro traffic, and 12 metro car pairs of the newer 200 series. The first metro trains of the 200 series were launched into traffic in 2002. In recent years HKL has had the metro trains of the 100 series renovated, so these trains now have dozens of years of service ahead of them. In 2006 about 56,8 million trips were made on the metro. The amount of passengers has grown every year since the beginning of the 1990s. KAUNIAINEN ESPOO Kauniainen atinkylä H:\kuvat\etro\etro historiikki.cdr12\sov\kt\6.2.2007 Tapiola Helsinki - Vantaan lentoasema Kivistö Vantaankoski yyrmäki Leppävaara Otaniemi Huopalahti Lauttasaari VANTAA Kannelmäki Pasila HELSINKI aunula Kamppi Vantaanportti Käpylä Lentoterminaali Herttoniemi almi Viikki Koivukylä Tikkurila Itäkeskus Laajasalo Santahamina ellunmäki Vuosaari SIPOO
Travel smoothly in Helsinki and its region unkkivuori UNKKINIEI 4 4T Vanha unkkiniemi Lapinmäentie Niemenmäki Huo palahdentie Seurasaari Trams will also in the future be the most important mode of public transport in the inner city, even if there were plans, during the car boom of the 1960s, to end the tram traffic. The tram with its green Raitiolinjat cars is advocated, among other things, Spårvägslinjer by the fact that it is environmen- Etelä-Haaga Pikku Huopalahti 1, 1A 3T, 3B 4, 4T 6 7A, 7B 8 10 HAAGA HAGA Vihdintie Paciuksenkatu Kauppalant EILAHTI Rajasaari. Kivihaka Hakamäentie RUSKEASUO Tukholmank Taivallahti Lapinlahti LAAKSO Topeliuksenkatu Il m alank ETU-TÖÖLÖ PASILA TAKA-TÖÖLÖ echelininkatu Lapinlahti Pohjois-Pasila Ilmala Radiok Länsi-Pasila Nordenskiöldinkatu Keski-Pasila Runebergsgatan Pasilankatu Runeberginkatu Veturitie Pasila annerheimintie Vauhtitie Rata pihant Sa o Helsinginkatu Töölönlahti Arkadiankatu v nk By tram in the city centre Koskelantie Itä-Pasila ALPPIHARJU Helsinki Eläintarhanlahti KÄPYLÄ Teollisuuskatu Aleksis Kiven katu Sturenkatu KALLIO Eläi ntarhantie anuntie KLUUVI KUPULA VALLILA äkelänkatu Harju Siltasaari Hämeentie tally friendly. Trams are also an important part of the image of Helsinki. The first horse-drawn tram line began operating in 1891 and the first electric tram in 1900. The traditional tram is today also subject to renewal. The first low-floor trams of Helsinki were launched into traffic in 1999. ost of the tram stops are elevated, and at the moment, low-floor middle sections are being built for articulated trams for better accessibility. KRUUNUNHAKA KOSKELA FORSBY Kustaa Vaasan tie Hanasaari Sörnäisten rantatie Hämeentie Hermannin rantatie Sörnäisten satama Pohjoissatama VANHAKAUPUNKI TOUKOLA HERANNI SÖRNÄINEN Sompasaari KATAJANOKKA KORKEASAARI Ruoholahti Porkkalankatu Lönnrotinkatu Uudenmaankatu PUNAVUORI KAARTIN- KAUPUNKI Laivasillank Eteläsatama Kanavakatu Kyläsaarenkatu In 2006 about 53 million trips were made on trams. HKL has 131 trams in use, of which 86 are articulated trams, 40 low-floor trams and 5 four-axled ones. Länsiväylä 4T Lauttasaarentie LAUTTASAARI Vattuniemi eripuistot LÄNSISATAA Jätkäsaari Hietalahti unkkisaari EIRA erisatama KAIVOPUISTO Kaupunkimittausosasto, Helsinki 0 070/2006 1 There are 11 tram lines and 85 kilometres of tram tracks in Helsinki. The line network will soon grow, as line 8 will be extended to Arabianranta in June 2007 and a new tram line 9 to Pasila will start operating in August 2008. Low-floor middle sections are being built for articulated trams for better accessibility. By ferry to Suomenlinna The ferry traffic to Suomenlinna is busiest during summer months, because fortress island is the most popular tourist attraction in Finland. The Suomenlinna ferry is daily used for work trips by several hundred inhabitants of the Suomenlinna fortress island. There are approximately one thousand inhabitants on the island. Almost all connections between the island and the mainland depend on the ferry traffic. The underground tunnel is primarily meant for fire and rescue operations. The ferry traffic is busiest during summer months when the ferry transports, besides the regular passengers, also tourists to the most popular tourist attraction in Finland. During the summer season the ferry transports almost 5 000 passengers a day, while the daily passenger amount on weekdays in wintertime is approximately 1 000. The ferry traffic to Suomenlinna is also based on the purchaser-producer model. HKL purchases the traffic from Suomenlinnan Liikenne Oy. Approximately 1,4 million trips are made yearly on the Suomenlinna ferry.
By commuter train to the west and to the north Besides the metro to the east and the trams in the city centre, there are also rails leading to the west and to the north. The usage of VR commuter trains is greatest within the boundaries of Helsinki, but the commuter trains offer connections also to other municipalities in the Helsinki region and as far as to Riihimäki and Lahti. There are approximately 1-3 commuter train departures an hour from smaller stations and over 10 departures an hour from large interchange stations. As to their speed, commuter trains are competitive with cars as their average speed is 85 km/h despite the stops. There are 14 trains, each with a different route letter, that run on the four commuter train tracks. The significance of the commuter train traffic is increasing. In the coming years Vantaa, among others, will increase the amount of interchange connections, where buses transport passengers to commuter train stops, at the cost of direct bus connections between Helsinki and the regional centres of Vantaa. low-floor trains. The rolling stock is being renewed. In 2004 the municipalities of the etropolitan area and the VR Group founded etropolitan Area Rolling Stock Ltd. to procure commuter trains needed for regional traffic. In August 2006 the company decided to procure altogether 32 new train units, which all will be in traffic by the beginning of 2014. Also the new trains will be low-floor trains. They will also be longer than the present trains and they will have, among other things, more information screens than the present rolling stock. In 2006 around 40,9 million regional trips and 19,9 Helsinki internal trips were made on VR commuter trains. The commuter train traffic is run with a little less than 190 trains, whereof 30 are low-floor trains. The first ones of the new trains, manufactured in Bussnang, Switzerland, are expected to be seen in the etropolitan area commuter traffic in 2009. The commuter train traffic is run by approximately 130 electrically operated commuter train units, whereof 30 are The tracks of the commuter train traffic and the metro. 6
The challenge of cross traffic The public transport has persistently been developed in the etropolitan area. Separate bus lanes have been built, the metro has been extended to Vuosaari and the tram traffic has been taken into consideration in the planning of new districts in the inner city by leaving room for tracks on the streets. Traffic planning and city planning are being carried out in close operation in the Helsinki region. The competitive tendering of bus traffic since the middle of 1990s has lowered traffic costs and ticket prices have remained moderate especially for those who use public transport regularly. The amount of Park & Ride parking areas has been increased so that more and more car users would change to buses or rail. The different electric services for making travelling easier are a chapter by itself. With the help of Helmi-system, which is based upon satellite positioning, traffic signal priority is given to trams and buses and passengers receive real time information about the arrivals. Today, the Helmi-system covers all tram lines and a dozen bus lines in Helsinki. With the Omat lähdöt-service the passenger can create an electronic timetable in his or her mobile phone. Through the traffic exceptions service the passenger can also get information about the exceptions in traffic to his or her mobile phone or computer. The route planner for public transport has within five years become one of the best known Finnish web brands, despite the fact that the route planner only gives you information about the routes and timetables of public transport in the etropolitan area. Approximately 100 000 searches are made daily with the route planner. Next summer the route planner can also be used for seeking light traffic routes in the region of Helsinki. Although the public transport is doing well at the moment, the work must be carried on so that buses and rail rolling stock also in the future will retain their appeal along with cars. One of the greatest challenges is developing the cross traffic. This is why solutions like the Jokeri Line, whether on wheels or track, will be needed also in the future.
HKL www.hkl.fi P.O Box 1400 00099 Helsingin kaupunki, Finland tel 358 9 310 1671 E-mail addresses: firstname.lastname@hkl.fi YTV www.ytv.fi P.O.Box 521 00520 Helsinki, Finland tel 358 9 156 11 E-mail addresses: firstname.lastname@ytv.fi