HSL’s ticket revenue is still about 40% lower than during the same period last year. More expensive tickets will compensate for some of the losses.
HELSINKI—Helsinki Regional Transport (HSL) will compensate for the loss of revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic by raising ticket prices by an average of four percent at the beginning of 2021.
For the consumer this means, for example, that the price of a 30-day season ticket for an adult will increase by €3. The price increase doesn’t include single and day tickets; they will stay at the current level.
Passengers of 70 years of age or over will no longer qualify for a discount on daytime single tickets. Instead, they will get a cheaper season ticket. The price will decrease an average of 40%. In other words, the price of an AB ticket, for example, will decrease from €59.70 to €34.50. The price for an annual ticket will cost €29 per month.
In a news release, HSL calls the price increases “moderate” because “the share of public transport subsidy from HSL member municipalities will increase to an average of 64% compared to the normal about 50% of HSL’s operating costs.”
Still, according to HSL, the revenue gap of 130 million euros will require state and EU support in addition to the additional subsidies from municipalities.
“The government’s recent supplementary budget promises more support for public transport, which will ease our situation this year. This year continues to be very difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic and our ticket revenue will fall short of the 2019 level,” Suvi Rithniemi, CEO of HSL, said in the statement.
At the beginning of the year, the range of day tickets will expand to include 8 to 13 days tickets. Initially, the tickets will be available using the HSL app, later also using the HSL card.
It is also worth noting that next year bus drivers will no longer sell tickets. Tickets sales by drivers were suspended in spring 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and now, according to HSL, it was decided that ticket sales by drivers will not be reinstated.
