Intensified ticket inspections reduced fare dodging
Last year HSL markedly stepped up its ticket inspections. The
number of fare dodgers fell for the first time in several
years.
Last spring, HSL’s ticket inspectors got new, fast inspection
devices to replace the old ones, and this resulted in more
effective ticket inspections.
In 2012, each ticket inspector checked on average 232 tickets
during a normal shift, nearly 10 percent more than the year
before.
More effective ticket inspections reduced the number of fare
dodgers. On average 3.2 percent of passengers were found traveling
without a valid ticket. The number of fare dodgers was down by 11
percent from the previous year.
In 2012, in total 3.4 million passengers’ tickets were checked,
an increase of over 20 percent from the previous year. The highest
numbers of fare dodgers were found on commuter trains, trams and
the Metro. HSL loses roughly EUR 10 million in ticket revenue every
year due to fare dodging.
In 2012, penalty fares issued by HSL totaled EUR 5.6 million,
some EUR 0.8 million more than the year before. The penalty fare
has been EUR 80 since 2007.
Increased visibility
At the end of 2012, HSL employed some 100 ticket inspectors. In
early 2013, 15 new ticket inspectors have been trained.
HSL continues its efforts to increase the effectiveness and
visibility of ticket inspections. HSL is targeting inspections at
those routes where fare dodging is the most common. Targeted
inspections are carried out on different modes of transport and at
different times of day. Ticket inspections are increased on the
Jokeri bus route 550 in order to obtain sufficient comparison data
for the purposes of evaluating the impact of open fare collection
on fare dodging when the trial of an open fare collection system
begins on the route in autumn 2013.
Also, HSL continues to deploy security guards to assist ticket
inspectors on the Metro and tram services. The aim of the
experiment is to improve the security of public transport staff on
late evening services. Security guards continue to check tickets
also in the Kamppi bus terminal in the early mornings.