Car Free Day 22 September – public transport for one euro
Give your car a day off and take public transport on
Saturday 22 September. On the Car Free Day, you can travel on HSL’s
public transport services at reduced fares.
On 22 September, it’s worth trying public
transport: a city internal ticket for adults costs only one euro,
children’s ticket 50 cents. A regional or 2-zone extended regional
ticket for adults costs EUR2, children's ticket EUR1. Extended
regional tickets for the whole HSL area cost EUR3 for adults and
EUR1.50 for children. More information about tickets
This year, you can also play Public Transport Game on the Car
Free Day. The game can be played from 10am to 2pm. The game website
is available in Finnish only. The game has been developed by HSL,
Ilmastoinfo, Nokia and Forum Virium. There are almost 40 control
points in the capital area, among others museums, sports venues and
libraries. The players visit the control points by public
transport, the Journey Planner helps to plan the routes.
To play the game, you need a personal or multi-user Travel Card,
or a contactless 1-7 day ticket. The main prize in the draw is a
one-year public transport ticket. There are also other ticket
prizes and prizes will also be drawn at several control points.
By downloading a photograph of your car enjoying a day off, you
can participate in a Facebook competition held by Ilmastoinfo, in
which the photographer of the photo with most votes will win HSL’s
regional ticket for one year. The competition runs until 28
September.
HSL promotes sustainable mobility
The Car Free Day is part of the European Mobility Week, which
runs from 16 to 22 September. Activities during the week include
theme days such as Ride Sharing Day held on 19 September and
Telecommuting Day on 21 September. On 21 September, Parking Day
organized by Ilmastoinfo is celebrated in downtown Helsinki.
“The aim is to get people pay attention to the way they travel.
Most people never think what are the impacts of their travel
choices,” says Tarja Jääskeläinen, the Head of Mobility Management
at HSL.
About one fifth of greenhouse gas emissions in the Helsinki
metropolitan area are from traffic. Private cars account for over
half of the emissions. It is, however, not always necessary to
drive a car. Public transport, walking and cycling are good options
for many journeys.
HSL’s mobility management aims to promote the use of sustainable
modes of transport, including car sharing, ride sharing and
economic driving. In addition to promoting people’s health,
sustainable modes of transport save the environment and money.
Urban traffic flows better and living comfort improves.