My home, My departures
You are about to move – how about changing your travel habits, too?
Have you been thinking about how you affect the environment and the air you breath? The share of traffic of noxious carbon dioxide emissions is as high as 20%. In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, traffic produces local emissions that have an adverse impact on people’s health, life expectancy and quality of life. Now that you are changing homes, could you think about switching to commuter cycling or commuting by public transport, either in part or in full? Your choices make a difference not only for the environment but also for your own health. And you will also save money.
Helsinki region has good public transport services
HSL or Helsinki Region Transport connects Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, Kerava, Sipoo and Kirkkonummi. In the HSL area you can travel conveniently using an HSL Travel Card, on which you can load either season tickets or value. Traveling with a Travel Card is significantly cheaper than purchasing single tickets. HSL’s tickets are valid on all buses and commuter trains in all the above mentioned municipalities. In Helsinki, you can also use the Metro, trams and Suomenlinna ferry. In a few years’ time you will be able to take the Metro to Espoo and commuter trains to the airport.
HSL’s online services and customer service help you to acquaint yourself with the public transport services of your new neighborhood. More information on public transport, tickets, services, timetables, routes and route network plans is available at www.hsl.fi. You can check route and timetable information also from HSL’s Journey Planner at www.reittiopas.fi/en. The Journey Planner also tells you the carbon dioxide emissions for your selected route. If you want to search stop specific timetables of a given route directly using a stop name or address, you can do it with the help of My Departures, www.omatlahdot.fi. HSL’s online services can be used conveniently also with mobile browsers by typing m.hsl.fi
HSL also provides information about walking and cycling routes
Walking and cycling are great incidental exercise. They are nearly free of charge, emission-free modes of transport that do not damage the environment. In a congested city, cycling is often the fastest mode of transport on journeys under seven kilometers. Cycling is also a practical way of getting to know your new neighborhood.
The Journey Planner for Cycling and walking helps you to find a good cycling route, for example, from home to work. The service also tells you about street works, traffic lights and cycle parking places along the route. The altitude contour shows how challenging the route is. You can find the Journey Planner for Cycling and walking at the same address as the Journey Planner for public transport, www.reittiopas.fi/en.
Combine driving and public transport – use Park and Ride
By using Park and Ride, you can avoid the congestion and parking problems of the city center and also save in fuel costs. Park and Ride facilities can be used free of charge, excluding the facilities in Malmi, Ruoholahti, Leppävaara and Velodromi. The most convenient way of paying your fare is to use a Travel Card. You can also purchase your public transport ticket at a station, ticket vending machine or, for example, from the bus driver or commuter train conductor. Information on Park and Ride sites is available in the Passenger’s Guide at www.hsl.fi (see Park and Ride).
Individually with a shared car
Has it ever occurred to you that you do not have to own a car although you might occasionally need one? You can save yourself a lot trouble by using public transport and car sharing.
City Car Club has over 100 pickup and return locations from where you can get a car to your use round the clock, every day of the year. You can choose from several different car models. You can book a car either online or by calling the Club’s booking center. You can use the car for exactly the time you need it, for example, for one hour or a week. The monthly invoice includes all costs related to the car, including fuel.
City Car Club offers a substantial benefit for regular public transport users. If you have a season ticket on your Travel Card, you will get discount on the package prices of City Car Club when joining the Club as a new member:
- S package EUR 7.50/month (normal price EUR 10/month)
- M package EUR 22.50/month (normal price EUR 30/month)
- L package EUR 37.5/month (normal price EUR 50/month)
This is what to do:
- Go to www.citycarclub.fi and fill in the sign-up form.
- The form has a section where you mention that you have an HSL Travel Card. In order to use the benefit, you must also submit the 18-digit serial number of your Travel Card found on the back side of your card.
- In order to use the HSL benefit, you must have a season ticket loaded on your Travel Card. The validity of the season ticket is checked every now and then.
- The City Car Club's cars are at your disposal once City Car Club has confirmed that your application has been accepted and you have had a brief introduction to the use of the service.
Travel Card service points
- HSL's service points: Central Railway Station’s metro station and Itäkeskus metro station
- Citizens’ Offices in Espoo: Espoon keskus, Espoonlahti, Kalajärvi, Leppävaara, Matinkylä and Tapiola
- Citizens’ Offices in Vantaa: Korso, Myyrmäki and Tikkurila.
- Service point in Kauniainen
- Service point at the Kerava library
- VR ticket sales point at Kirkkonummi station
- Service points in Sipoo: Nikkilä and Söderkulla libraries
Service point contact information