Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today

On Tuesday, HSL decided that the prices for the longest fares—ABC, BCD, CD and ABC tickets will decrease at the beginning of 2020.

The price cuts will apply to both single and season tickets. The prices of AB, BC and D tickets will not change.

“This is the first time in our 10-year history we make such significant fare cuts. We will lower the fares for the longest journeys, as switching from driving to public transport for the longest journeys is most beneficial in terms of reducing emissions from traffic,” says Suvi Rihtniemi, the executive director at HSL, in a statement.

Change to fares from January 1, 2020. Source: HSL

The biggest benefit will be to those living in zones C and D, but also people living in zones A and B will benefit from the lower prices. For example, residents of Helsinki buy 27 percent of ABC tickets, and they are the third-largest group of people buying ABCD tickets.

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The level of public transport service is, according to HSL, poorer in zones C and D than closer to the center of Helsinki. The level of public transport in zones and A and B HSL describes as excellent. Moreover, the validity area of AB and BC tickets is large and because of the 80-minute transfer time, passengers are often able to make both the outward and return journeys with the same ticket.

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