HSL in 2021

The COVID 19-pandemic continued to affect public transport in 2021. In 2021, the number of journeys made on our transport services was nearly 40 percent lower than in 2019. Municipal contributions paid by our member municipalities and the Government’s coronavirus subsidies played a major role in bridging our financial gap.

Despite the difficult economic situation, we did not make significant cuts to public transport services. We are looking to the future. In 2021, we developed a new strategy which provides a basis for economic recovery and a new beginning for public transport.

New trunk bus routes

New trunk bus routes 20, 30 and 40 were launched in Helsinki and trunk bus route 570 in Vantaa in August. Trunk bus routes provide frequent and consistent service from early morning to late evening.

New bus routes were introduced in West Helsinki at the same time as the new trunk bus routes started. Major changes also took place in East Vantaa, where new Lahdenväylä bus routes were introduced.

Electric buses and environmental bonuses

Fully low-floor articulated electric buses were acquired to operate the new trunk bus routes 20, 30 and 40. At the end of 2021, there were in total 174 electric buses in service in the region, accounting for about 13 percent of the total bus fleet.

In 2021, we paid out about EUR 1.5 million in environmental bonuses to bus operators for cutting emissions.

Electric buses and environmental bonuses support our strategic goals of reducing emissions and promoting sustainable mobility.

Discount campaign to welcome customers back to public transport

We ran the biggest discount campaign in our history to welcome customers back to public transport after the pandemic. In August/September 2021, we sold 30-day season tickets at half price via the HSL app.

Later in the autumn, we ran a responsibility campaign. In the campaign we emphasized that for us, responsibility means not only working for the good of the environment but also responsible management of finances and promoting wellbeing in the Helsinki region.

2021 in figures

Click on the link to access information on, for example, how many journeys were made on our services, how reliable our services were and how many vehicles were needed to operate the services.