The new HSL trunk bus route, 200 (Elielinaukio – Pitäjänmäki – Leppävaara – Karakallio – Jorvi – Espoon keskus), will launch on 10 August. The new route will replace current route 235.
Like on all HSL trunk bus routes, the buses will be colored orange, passengers can board the buses using all doors, including the middle doors, and passengers do not need to show a valid ticket to the driver or card reader. Stops and traffic signal priorities along the route will be improved and more displays will be installed at stops.
The bus will not serve all stops along the route to speed up journey times. Trunk route 200 will serve 32 stops. Compared to the current route 235, the new route will have 12 fewer stops in the direction of Espoo and 10 fewer stops in the direction of Helsinki. The stops to be removed were selected based on passenger numbers and their role as interchanges.
The new trunk route will run Monday to Saturday about 5am to 11pm and on Sundays about 6am to 11pm. During the daytime, the bus will run every 10 minutes, early in the morning, in the evening and on Sundays less frequently. At night, bus 235N will run via Lähderanta to Kuurinniitty as before.
Trunk route 200 was included in the route network plan for North Espoo and Leppävaara implemented in August 2019. The trunk route is launched a year later because of the infrastructure measures required. HSL has planned the measures and, for example, the stops to be served by the route together with the cities of Espoo and Helsinki.
Trunk routes are frequently running routes which provide efficient links to district centers and other key destinations. HSL’s current trunk route network comprises of the Metro, trains and four trunk bus routes. The trunk routes with their frequent services and high-quality stop information are easy to use.
When public transport is based on trunk routes, the number of transfers may increase. However, journeys will be smoother thanks to short headways and high-quality interchanges. HSL is continuously working to improve important interchanges, in partnership with the region’s municipalities. The fleet used on trunk routes is of high-quality.
More new trunk routes will be introduced in the future, in line with HSL’s strategy. Decisions have already been made regarding the following trunk routes:
- Crosstown trunk route in Vantaa, 570 (Mellunmäki – Hakunila – Tikkurila – Airport)
- Trunk route from Eira via Töölö to Munkkivuori and Myyrmäki
- Trunk route 40 from Elielinaukio via Haaga to Kannelmäki
These routes will start in autumn 2021. In addition, two crosstown trunk routes between Espoo and Vantaa will start later and there are plans to introduce trunk routes from Helsinki city center in the direction of Vihdintie and Hämeenlinnanväylä.
Map showing trunk route 200 (click to enlarge):
List of stops served by trunk route 200 and stops to be removed (pdf)
Route and stops served (click to enlarge)
Trunk routes from 10 August:
