The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) announced on Tuesday that some ticket fares will rise as of the beginning of next year.
The prices of AB and BC tickets will rise. A 30-day AB- or BC-region ticket will cost 70.60 euros, or 58.80 euros as an automatically renewing subscription. Meanwhile, the price of single tickets will increase from 2.80 to 3.10 euros.
However those who travel longer distances will see fares decline.
Tickets that cover the entire HSL area, categorised as ABCD, will significantly decrease from 1 January. A single ticket price will drop from 5.70 to 4.50 euros while a monthly pass will cost 91.40 instead of 118.90.
HSL rationalised this price dip by saying that "the longest journeys have the greatest potential to attract motorists to switch to public transport through pricing, which would also reduce traffic emissions".
No more free school-group rides
The regional mass transit authority also confirmed that it will stop offering free rides to school groups, a perk that has been available since 2019. The benefit will end in 2024, with the nine HSL member municipalities in the capital region taking over the responsibility for paying field trip fares.
On Sunday, Helsinki Deputy Mayor Nasima Razmyar (SDP) criticised the plan to halt such free rides. Liisa Pohjolainen, a former director of the city's education department, also questioned the decision, declaring that fare-free rides have helped to boost equality.
HSL has also asked the Ministry of Transport and Communications to approve a higher public transport penalty fare, raising it to 100 euros from the current 80-euro fine, which has remained unchanged since 2007.
The transport authority estimates that it loses 10-25 million euros in ticket revenue annually due to fare dodging and that a higher penalty would reduce the upward pressure on prices by 1.5 percent.