HSL Helsinki Region Transport

• We are responsible for the drawing up the Helsinki Region Transport System Plan (HLJ).
• We plan and organize public transport in the region and work to improve its operating conditions.
• We procure bus, tram, metro, ferry and commuter train services.
• We approve the public transport fare and ticketing system as well as ticket prices.
• We are responsible for public transport marketing and passenger information.
• We are responsible for ticket sales and ticket inspections.

We procure public transport services for our member municipalities. We purchase transport services from our partners. Our key partners include City Transport Ltd, VR, Helsingin Bussiliikenne, Nobina Finland Oy and Pohjolan Liikenne Ab.

Our activities are mainly funded by fare revenue and municipal contributions. Usually fare revenue accounts for about half of our operating income and municipal contributions for the other half.

The operating costs of services account for over 70 percent of our operating expenses. In 2022, our operating income amounted to EUR 814.8 milliion our our operating expenses amounted to EUR 733.9 million.

HSL’s Executive Director is Vesa Silfver. The Executive Director and six Directors form HSL’s Management Group. The highest decision-making body of HSL is the General Meeting comprising of representatives of the member municipalities. The General Meeting selects the Executive Board of HSL, which protects the interests of the joint local authority, supervises its management and establishes its operating principles. The term of office of the Executive Board is the municipal electoral period, i.e. four years.

Organization

Approximately 237.6 million journeys were made on our public transport services in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the use of public transport and in 2021 our passenger numbers were still more than 40 percent lower than in 2019.

In 2021, about 45 percent of all public transport journeys in the Helsinki region were made by buses, which means that more than half of the journeys were made by metro, commuter trains or trams.

In 2021, there were more than 24,418 services on weekdays on a total of 311 routes. Our services were reliable: nearly 99 percent of the scheduled services were operated. 

We have about 400 employees. Most of us work in expert tasks in public transport planning, research and information services or in tasks relating to ticket inspection.