New bus routes to launch in Lauttasaari

New bus routes will be rolled out in Lauttasaari on 10 August 2020. The changes will be the biggest since the introduction of the Metro feeder services, said the Helsinki Region Transport Authority-HSL in a bulletin.

All Lauttasaari bus services will operate via Lauttasaari Metro Station also in the future. A direct bus service between Lauttasaari and Kamppi will be reinstated. A new route, 22B, will start running between Lauttasaari Metro Station and Katajaharju.

The new Lauttasaari bus network will comprise three routes: Route 21: Kamppi (M) – Vattuniemi – Lauttasaari (M), Route 22: Punavuori – Ruoholahti (M) – Lauttasaari (M) – Katajaharju, and Route 22B: Lauttasaari (M) – Katajaharju.

In addition, feeder route 104 will continue to run from Lauttasaari (M) to Haukilahti. The night bus service 20N will be renumbered 21N. The bus will be rerouted in Vattuniemi to run along Itälahdenkatu, instead of Melkonkatu; otherwise the route will remain unchanged.

The original plan included a route running between Katajaharju and Vattuniemi, but it will not be launched due to the weakening of HSL’s financial position as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new route network was planned in close cooperation with customers. The planning process began in autumn 2019. HSL Executive Board approved the new route network for Lauttasaari on 11 February 2020.

At first, the HSL conducted a travel survey to understand the travel habits of people in Lauttasaari. After that it held a resident workshop to learn more about the residents’ thoughts and development ideas. The draft route network plan was presented to the residents at the Lauttis Shopping Centre in December 2019.

Throughout the project, residents and other stakeholders were able to follow the progress of the planning and share their thoughts via a blog.