On-demand ride-sharing service to be launched in Espoo in September

The new on-demand ride-sharing service being introduced in September offers a new way to move around in Espoo. You can book a ride near you and easily get to your destination. The service combines public transport and taxis: the system is based on ride-pooling, and routes are generated on the basis of customer needs.

The service, built by ViaVan Technologies in cooperation with HSL will be launched in the eastern parts of Espoo on 16 September. The service area will extend from Niittykumpu to the boundary between Helsinki and Espoo and from the coastal line to the southern seashore. The service can be used and rides can be paid for using a separate app.

The on-demand ride-sharing service is one of the two winners of the IdeaLab competition held by HSL last year. In addition to the on-demand ride sharing service, city scooters piloted in Vuosaari this year received half a million euros in funding.

The pilot stage of the on-demand ride-sharing service takes six months, during which HSL aims to identify how customers have accepted the new service and whether similar services have the potential to supplement public transport in the future.

More information about the service will be announced soon.