Decree on Penalty Fares in Public Transport circulated for comments: Increase proposed to Helsinki Region Transport penalty fare

The Ministry of Transport and Communications requests comments on the proposed amendments to the Decree on Penalty Fares in Public Transport. The Decree would be amended to increase the public transport penalty fare from EUR 80 to EUR 100 in public transport provided by Helsinki Region Transport.

The penalty fare would remain at EUR 80 for rail passengers and in public transport provided by the City of Tampere transport authority. In Jyväskylä, the penalty fare would remain at EUR 60.

Helsinki Region Transport proposed to the Ministry of Transport and Communications an increase in the penalty fare from the current EUR 80 to EUR 100 in October 2022. According to the proposal, Helsinki Region Transport loses every year 15-25 million euros in ticket income due to passengers travelling without a ticket. Helsinki Region Transport says that fare evasion has increased in recent years.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications estimates that an increase in the penalty fare to EUR 100 would be proportionate to the rise in ticket prices. Under the Act on Penalty Fares in Public Transport, the penalty fare is at most 40 times the lowest price for a single adult bus ticket in the area. The penalty fare was last increased in the Helsinki Region Transport area in 2007, when the price of the lowest single ticket for adults was EUR 2.20. In 2023 the price of this ticket is EUR 3.10. The value of the penalty fare should follow ticket pricing, as the penalty fare aims to reduce the financing gain from travelling without a ticket.

Raising the penalty fare to EUR 100 would also keep it proportionate to other similar fees. For example, the maximum value of a parking fine is EUR 80 and the traffic penalty fee imposed for minor traffic violations is EUR 20-200, depending on the nature of the offence.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications and Helsinki Region Transport will jointly monitor the impacts of any increases in the penalty fare. The penalty fare can be adjusted on the basis of data collected on the impacts.

What's next?

Comments on the proposed amendments can be submitted until 31 March 2023.Organisations and private individuals are invited to comment online at www.lausuntopalvelu.fi or by email to [email protected]. Following the public consultation, public officials will continue the decree drafting.

Inquiries

Tiia Orjasniemi, Ministerial Adviser, tiia.orjasniemi(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 50 441 5730

Emil Asp, Director of Unit, emil.asp(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 40 509 9757