City public transport in Finland – achieving objectives

Developing city transport helps combat climate change. It also promotes the competitiveness of the urban regions and improves people’s everyday lives. Together, these objectives require a change to traditional ways of thinking. Solutions to problems should not primarily be sought through large investments in infrastructure that increase vehicle traffic capacity. Instead, we should act so that the need for transport is reduced and transport takes a beneficial course in terms of the environment and traffic congestion.

Passenger transport in the cities is directed towards public transport, walking and cycling. In 2020, 100 million more public transport journeys and 300 million more walking and cycling journeys should be made in Finland than at present, which means increasing the number of such journeys by one fifth. The number of journeys can be increased particularly in the growing urban regions, where conditions are best for public transport and where distances are favourable for walking and cycling.

In large cities, more than 350 million public transport journeys per year are made, which is approximately 70% of all public transport journeys made in Finland. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, rail transport is strong and public transport is a very competitive way of travelling. Of journeys made using motorised vehicles, public transport accounts for nearly 40% in this area, and at peak travel times for journeys made into the Helsinki peninsula this figure reaches nearly 70%. In Tampere and Turku, the corresponding figure is less than 20%, and in Oulu less than 10%.

Public transport will be made attractive by reconciling the land use and transport of growing cities. It is particularly important to exploit the opportunities for intelligent transport granted by the information society. Public transport, as well as walking and cycling, should be favoured in transport infrastructure investments. Much can be achieved by developing public transport legislation and increasing financial support for public transport, walking and cycling. It is also important to invest in developing public transport services and to organise and finance mobility management.

The Helsinki region

Of Finland’s metropolitan regions, only in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area does rail transport have a significant role in passenger transport. In recent years, the capacity and service level of urban transport has been raised though city rail projects. Train service frequency at peak hours is 5-10 minutes. On longer journeys the service is supplemented by regional trains that travel to neighbouring towns and cities. Due to this, the popularity of rail transport has grown in the region at a rate of 4% per year.

The most interesting of the new projects is the Ring Rail Line, which will link the Martinlaakso urban line with the main inter-city line via Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The construction of the line has just begun. Implementation is also closely integrated with the building of new urban units around the new stations.

The Helsinki Metro, which will soon celebrate 30 years of operation, connects the eastern parts of Helsinki with the city centre. The metro carries nearly 60 million passengers per year, i.e. approximately the number that travel on regional rail transport. Growth is also nearly as strong. The metro line will be extended 10 kilometres westward. The work may begin this year and be completed in 2014. The metro system will also be modernised with new rolling stock and automation systems, which will enable the interval between trains to be shortened to 90 seconds.

Helsinki is also investing in the development of rail transport. Passenger numbers total more than 50 million per year.

There will also be a major organisational change when the present public transport organisations are combined into a regional authority, which at the same time will cover a larger area. The new Helsinki Regional Transport (HSL) Authority will plan, order and arrange public transport in the region. HSL will have the additional task of formulating a regional transport system plan. Planning has already started. Avoiding urban sprawl and locating new land use next to rail transport links will play a key role in terms of transport system functionality and environmental issues.

The Tampere region

This region will grow from the present 250,000 inhabitant metropolitan region into a metropolitan region with approximately 400,000 inhabitants. The Tampere public transport system is currently based on bus transport. Although rail tracks run into Tampere from all directions, there is no true regional rail transport system. The City of Tampere’s internal bus transport provides a relatively high level of service, but for journeys to the edges of the commuting area the service level declines substantially. The city has invested heavily in an intelligent ticketing and information system.

A major planning effort is currently under way in the region aimed at finding the best possible structure for future growth. At the same time, consideration is being given to whether it is possible to face the challenges of the future without building a new rail transport system. The planning work and subsequent decision-making are demanding, because the region has eight municipalities that compete in obtaining good tax payers and, for example, in attracting large retail units.

The work has produced three different structural models: a cohesive metropolitan region, a metropolitan structure relying on public transport, and a multi-centre model. The basis of the cohesive metropolitan region model is to build as cohesively as possible in central Tampere and within the city’s borders. The model does not include the incorporation of large new areas from suburban municipalities nor a new city district for Tampere, namely Nurmi-Sorila. The public transport option, on the other hand, would direct land use heavily towards public transport corridors and the suburban municipalities. Of all the models, the multi-centre option puts greatest emphasis on developing the municipal centres of the suburban municipalities. Since the turn of the millennium, growth has been strongest in the suburban municipalities and now the municipalities are considering bearing joint responsibility for growth. The objectives of structural model work include changing the percentage shares of the various forms of transport so that the shares of public transport, as well as walking and cycling, are increased and so that growth in the relative proportion of passenger car journeys is restricted.

The Turku region

Approximately 20 million journeys are made annually in Turku’s local transport. Turku internal transport operates almost entirely on the basis of competitive tendering – the city’s own transport department accounts for only around 15% of transport provision. The City of Turku spends more than €30 million per year on purchasing public transport services.

In the municipalities surrounding Turku, public transport takes the form of bus transport, which the municipalities support mainly through regional ticket subsidies and student tickets. The level of services offered varies and, except for certain heavily used routes, the public transport provision is modest. Use of public transport per inhabitant in neighbouring municipalities, moreover, is around half the average level of bus travelling in Turku. This is despite the fact that the population centre extends over municipal boundaries.

Important challenges for the coming years in the entire Turku metropolitan region include creating a joint, efficient public transport system independent of municipal boundaries. When crossing municipal boundaries by car, no difference is perceived, but the bus world is still very different, depending on the municipality. The municipalities of the metropolitan region are now jointly investigating the implementation of a possible joint public transport system.

Turku Region Public Transport 2020 is a study currently being conducted by the municipalities of the metropolitan region. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is also participating in directing the study and is contributing to its costs.

The objective of the work is to provide a basis for selecting the future public transport system of the city region. The study compares three alternative public transport systems. One option is a fast tram system, complemented by a bus network. The second option consists of fast trunk bus lines, complemented by a bus network. The third option is the 0+ option, in which no significant development measures are made.

The role of the Ministry of Transport and Communications

Achieving transport and environmental policy objectives particularly requires the larger metropolitan regions to develop transport systems and land use to favour public transport, cycling and walking. The growth of cities and the simultaneous growth of passenger car transport resulting from urban sprawl threaten to congest city transport, which is currently functioning efficiently. Long commuting journeys by passenger car, however, are not consistent with climate targets, even though characteristic emissions can be reduced with automotive technology.

The Ministry has also been involved with the largest cities in planning their regional transport systems. In recent years, letters of intent on the implementation of plans have been agreed between the regions and the Ministry. The objective has been to create from the measures proposed by the different parties a jointly agreed package that when implemented will progress towards a common goal.