Helsinki Regional Transport will not introduce a 10-minute ticket for public transport. The transport authority tested the short-term ticket earlier this year but found it financially unviable.
HSL trialed the brief ticket in several central Helsinki neighborhoods. These included Eira, Hernesaari, Punavuori, Alppila, and Vallila. The authority sold approximately 70,000 tickets during the pilot.
The experiment did not attract enough new customers. It also failed to significantly reduce car and taxi trips. Most people who tried the short-term ticket were already using public transport.
Only a small number of passengers replaced car or taxi rides with the new ticket. The majority simply bought it instead of a more expensive single ticket.
Officials said the ticket type would reduce fare revenue without a substantial increase in customer numbers. This makes it economically unsustainable, especially as infrastructure and operating costs are rising.
HSL initially set the ticket's validity at 10 minutes. During the trial, they extended this period to 20 minutes. About a quarter of residents in the test areas tried the short-journey ticket.
The transport body concluded that adding the short-term ticket to its selection is not financially sensible. If fare revenues drop, losses would need to be covered by other means, likely increasing pressure to raise ticket prices.
This decision highlights the challenge of balancing affordability with financial stability in public transport. The experiment showed that even attractive pricing doesn't automatically shift people from cars to trains and buses.