Passengers in Helsinki are now able to purchase HSL (Helsinki Region Transport) public transport tickets also via the Estonian application Pilet.ee, the mobile ticket sales channel for Tallinn and Tartu public transport.
A large part of the passengers traveling between Estonia and Finland are regularly using public transport, which means that they also have to purchase different kinds of tickets during the same day from different sales channels. This process is inconvenient for passengers, which is why organizations responsible for organizing public transport in Tallinn, Tartu and Helsinki have long discussed how to make ticketing more convenient for people traveling between both shores of the Gulf of Finland.
The solution allows a passenger departing from Estonia to step on the bus or tram in Helsinki when arriving without the need to queue at the ticket machine or without the inconvenience of downloading another app.
Estonia and Finland are closely connected in many different ways. There is a strong economic connection between the two countries because Finland is the largest foreign labour market for Estonians, and Estonia is one of the most popular tourist destinations among Finns.
“Using public transport in Helsinki will become more convenient for Estonians. Thanks to the new application, you don’t need to download a local mobile app or buy a local travel card or wait in the queue line for the ticketing machine while it’s freezing cold outside.” says Andrei Novikov, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn.
“Helsinki continues to be a very important destination for Estonians and one of the main gateways to the world, accompanied by a demand for convenient use of local public transport. Being able to buy a ticket from an already familiar application, in your language, will certainly encourage and facilitate the use of public transport in Helsinki””, adds Raimond Tamm, Deputy Mayor of Tartu.
The solution makes use of the open ticket interface of HSL, the public transport authority in the Helsinki region. In addition to the HSL app, HSL mobile tickets have already been available in various other sales channels, for example in the app of Matkahuolto, a company providing long-distance bus journeys in Finland.
”The whole idea behind the interface is that different actors can provide HSL public transport as part of their other services. This certainly makes using public transport easier for those coming to Helsinki from Estonia”, says Mari Flink, Director for Sales and Customer Experience at HSL.
”Despite the current situation with Covid-19, traveling between Estonia and Finland will keep increasing. During the 21st century it should go without saying that something as trivial as purchasing a public transport ticket should be easy and convenient. This co-operation between three cities offers clear value to the passenger”, says Argo Verk, Sales Director at Ridango, the company behind the Pilet.ee application.
