Public transport fares to rise further in Helsinki from Jan

The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (Helsingin seudun liikenne – HSL) on Tuesday decided to increase the prices of some tickets for public transport from the beginning of 2023, said HSL in a press release.

The authority said that the decision of price hike was taken due to a sharp increase in HSL’s operating expenses, in particular in the compensations for the use of public transport infrastructure.

As per the new price, a 30-day AB or BC ticket will cost EUR 70.60, or EUR 58.80 as an auto-renewing subscription. The price of single tickets will increase from EUR 2.80 to EUR 3.10.

The authority, however, decided to reduce the price for ABCD tickets, which cover the entire HSL area.

An auto-renewing saver subscription for the entire HSL area will cost EUR 91.40 instead of EUR 118.90.

The price of ABCD single tickets will also decrease from EUR 5.70 to EUR 4.50.

The authority also increased the price for students and elderly people (+70 years) reducing discount on the price.

From 1 January 2023, the student discount and the discount for the over 70s will be 40 percent instead of 45 percent.

The discount rate for students will still be significantly higher than in Turku, Tampere or Oulu, for example. In addition, only full-time students will be entitled to the discount.

In addition, a payment method fee of 1.6 percent will be added to tickets paid using mobile payment for all one-off purchases under EUR 50.

School groups will continue to travel free of charge next year, but the HSL decided that from 2024, these journeys will be paid for by municipalities.

Earlier, the HSL increased the prices of season tickets for public transport from the beginning of 2022.