Finland Times

 

File picture of a travel card for Helsinki area. FTimes Photo by Jasim Sarker.

The trial of the Waltti national travel card has been suspended in Jyväskylä due to technical problems.

 

The new system will allow passengers to use only one travel card in different forms of transportation in the regions that are part of the initiative. 

 

The Waltti trial in Jyväskylä began in the beginning of July but it was not compatible with the bus fare collection device.

 

The trial will continue in August after the update of programmes according to the assessment of the  Ilkka Kankkunen, acting managing director of Waltti.

 

The trial has also began in Joensuu and according to Kankkunen, there was no such problem.

 

The use of the card in Joensuu however began later than had been planned.

 

Kankkunen emphasised that these were only trials and the actual use of the system in Jyväskylä and Joensuu are set to set to start in October.

 

Earlier, in September 2013, the transport agency submitted a report with recommendations for making the public transportation system more effective. It suggested that the government should introduce a common travel card for the capital and 22 major cities of the country to make public transportation more cost-effective.

 

Terming the existing provision for having separate tickets for buses and trains on long-distance routes as a barrier, the agency said a common travel card could be used for all kinds of vehicles on long-distance routes and in inter-city transports.

 

Under the proposed system travellers would be able to use the common travel card even for taxis by loading money in the card separately.

 

Although a common travel card is being used for bus, train, tram and metro services in Helsinki now, it is not allowed for long-distance journeys and in other cities outside the capital.

 

As per the HSL recommendation, travel cards issued by various cities and towns can be used in all the major cities and the authorities are planning to introduce this regime by next autumn.

 

Even air travel can be brought under the common card system gradually, said the report.