HSL and Uber are testing cooperation in three areas. A five-euro Uber ride can be used on three HSL trunk lines in Helsinki and Vantaa.
Starting on Friday, passengers can order an Uber ride for five euros between their place of residence and a Helsinki Region Transport trunk route. The trial will continue for approximately three months.
The new service is available in Helsinki’s Postipuisto and Itä-Pakila neighbourhoods as well as Vantaa’s Ylästö district during limited hours. You can order a Uber on weekdays between 10am and 1am and on weekends from 6am to 4pm.
One end point of the ride must be at one of certain specified public transport mainline stops or stations, while the other end point must be in a designated residential area.
You can request an Uber for these connections:
- Postipuisto and Ilmala, Käpylä or Huopalahti stations
- Ylästö and Martinlaakso, Vantaankoski or Aviapolis stations, or Hagelstamintie trunk line stop in Kartanonkoski (line 600)
- Itä-Pakila and Oulunkylä or Pukinmäki stations, or the Teininpuisto light rail stop (line 15)
An HSL ticket is not included in the five-euro Uber ride, so a separate valid HSL ticket is required for public transport travel.
Uber’s flat rate of five euros applies to trips with an actual cost of no more than 25 euros. If the trip price exceeds the price cap, the customer pays an additional five euros for the portion above the price cap.
Uber rides will appear to eligible users as route suggestions in the browser-based Route Guide. That will include a link to a one-time code that can be used to request an Uber ride.
Uber rides are subject to driver availability. Passengers must be at least 18 years old to have an active Uber account. Under-18s can only ride when accompanied by an adult.
According to HSL Executive Director Vesa Silfver, the partnership with a private operator provides new options for sustainable mobility and important lessons for the future.
The experiment is part of the EU-funded Gemini project. Its Finnish partners are Forum Virium Helsinki, a city-owned innovation think-tank, and the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
