The HSL Executive Board decided today, 27 October 2026, to raise fares for 2027 by an average of 1.8 percent. The prices of child single tickets and single tickets for customers entitled to a 50 percent discount will remain unchanged. Fares for all other ticket types and zones will increase.
“Setting fares is always a balancing act. We want to keep the fare increases moderate so that public transport remains as accessible as possible. This year, higher passenger numbers and the resulting increase in fare revenue eased the pressure to raise fares, but we are still guided by the owner municipalities’ objective of keeping municipal funding at a certain level. Rising infrastructure and operating costs will increasingly have to be covered by municipal funding and savings in public transport and HSL’s own operations, says Mari Flink, Director of the Customers Division.
In the future, you will pay no more for single tickets than the price of a day ticket
In the future, you will pay no more than the price of a day ticket for single tickets purchased within a 24-hour period, regardless of how many journeys you make.
“Given the cost pressures, it is important to make travel easier and encourage new customers to use public transport. That is why we are introducing a daily fare cap for single tickets purchased using contactless payment from 2 November 2026,” says Flink.
The fare cap will first be piloted for single tickets purchased using contactless payment. At this stage, it will not apply to mobile tickets purchased in the HSL app or to single tickets purchased with value on an HSL card. The fare cap will initially be introduced on a limited basis for contactless payment so that we can gather practical information about its impact on the customer experience, demand and fare revenue before considering extending it to other sales channels.
HSL will pilot distance-based pricing in late fall 2026
“In late fall 2026, we will offer a limited group of customers the opportunity to participate in a pilot of distance-based pricing. In response to customer feedback, the pilot will explore solutions to make fares better reflect the length of the journey and make it easier to choose the right ticket,” says Mari Flink, Director of the Customers Division.
The launch of the pilot will be announced separately once the start date is confirmed.
Cost pressures will continue in the coming years
2027 will be an exceptional year in terms of municipal funding. The disruption to Metro services caused by the replacement of the Junatie Metro bridge is estimated to increase the subsidy rate, that is, the municipalities’ share of public transport costs, by approximately three percentage points in 2027.
Infrastructure costs are estimated to total €259.3 million and public transport operating costs €693 million. Both fare revenue and municipal funding will be needed to cover the rising costs. However, the aim is to reduce the subsidy rate excluding infrastructure costs to 40 percent by 2029.