For its part, this pilot project aims to meet the requirements of positive structural changes in Southwest Finland. The trial period for the new public transportation departures will last a maximum of two years, but the aim is for the public transportation commuting connections to be organised on market terms after that.
The commuting pilot aims to find out the passenger potential for the route and to see if the mobility of labour can be promoted through customising schedules to suit three-shift work, while improving the public transportation connections for other passengers, as well. During the development project, the service elements required for an attractive commute, such as speed, price, and feeder transport connections, are also studied.
During spring 2017, Valmet Automotive will recruit over 1,000 new employees for its automobile factory in Uusikaupunki. Supporting the mobility of labour and finding suitable employees for the vacancies are in the best interests of both the factory and the region’s authorities. It has been estimated that a significant share of the new employees will commute from the Turku region.
The South-west Finland ELY centre is responsible for organising the public transport connection between Turku and Uusikaupunki. The South-west Finland ELY centre and Valmet Automotive share the responsibility for the funding of the connection.
New opportunities through a mobile application
The project is also testing the usability of mobile services on a targeted customer group. The Föli Public Transport of the City of Turku offers the project the opportunity to use the mobile platform used for its ticket system, for the purchase of tickets targeted at the employees of the automobile factory.
The use of the system also allows travel to be combined with the local transport organised by Föli. The functionality of the mobile application may also be tested for the organisation of carpooling during the trial. Valmet Automotive also offers the mobile application used by its employees to be used through its contracting party.
Public transport to be made an attractive alternative for commuting
It is hoped that the employees of the factory could be offered alternatives for their commute. Well-functioning public transport connections lower the threshold for applying for a job at the factory, and offer an alternative to using private cars.
Valmet Automotive supports public transport commuting by its employees by offering discounted ticket prices. In order to buy tickets at these discounted prices, the employees need the employer’s mobile application for the purchase and payment of the tickets. Other users will pay normal rates for their tickets.
Fast connections are driven directly to the factory’s gate and the public transport schedules are made to fit the work shifts, in order to make the public transport an even more attractive alternative. The commuter route runs from the Turku bus station to the Uusikaupunki bus station via the automobile factory gate. The number of stops on the route is limited in order to keep the duration of the journey as short as possible.
Routes and stops:
Turku bus station – Turku Länsikeskus – Raisio centre – Kustavintie graded interchange – Humikkala graded interchange – Masku centre graded interchange – Nousiainen graded interchange – National Road 8 by the Mynämäki centre – Uusikaupunki automobile factory – Uusikaupunki bus station
Schedules:
The exact schedules will be announced separately, at a later time. The schedules will be published on the websites of the South-west Finland ELY centre, Föli, and matka.fi. Valmet Automotive will also inform its personnel through its internal channels.
Prices:
For employees of the factory, a single ticket between Turku and Uusikaupunki costs €4, regardless of where they step onto the bus. Other passengers will be charged normal distance-based fees. The ELY centre defines maximum prices per distance group.
For employees of the factory, a one-month ticket between Turku and Uusikaupunki costs €130 per month. The ticket price is the same, regardless of where the user steps onto the bus, and it can be used freely during its validity. The Turku–Uusikaupunki one-month ticket does not include a transfer ticket for the Föli local traffic.
Feeder transport connection tickets in the Turku region local public transport system are available at normal rates. The Föli feeder connections can be combined to carpooling, as well as the public transport between Turku and Uusikaupunki.