The Helsinki City Region consists of four cities: Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen. All together they have around 1 million inhabitants, Helsinki being the biggest with a little over half a million. All the cities have their own internal bus routes and tickets (one fare/town) except for Kauniainen (which is very small) that uses Espoo tickets and routes. There are also regional routes and trains that operate in the region across city limits. Each towns tickets are also valid on these routes in that particular town, but to cross a city limit you need a special regional ticket that is valid in all the towns in the area.
Each city commissions its own internal bus routes. The regional routes (buses/trains) are commissioned by a special cooperation body for the area (that does other things as well) called YTV. Competition is the word at the moment. All regional, Vantaa and Espoo routes have been competed for at least once. The first round of bidding is still in progress in Helsinki. All train routes are currently being run by the State Railways though there has been talk about opening these for competition as well.
A wide selection of buses is in use in the region. Note that nearly all the buses have a 2+2+1 door configuration. Some older models have 2+2 and a few new ones have 2+2+2. The extra doors reduce the amount of seats, but also shorten the time spent at stops. There is always space for at least two baby carriages opposite the middle doors.
Ticket pricing is quite reasonable in the region. Single fare tickets cost around 10 marks (1£, 2$) for adults in one city and 15 marks for regional tickets. The tickets are generally valid for one hour for switching buses and trains (even trams, metros and Suomenlinna ferrys in Helsinki) though some long routes have slightly longer times. Childrens (under 17) tickets generally cost about half the amount of an adult ticket and under 7 year-olds get to travel for free. Students in the area get a discount on their tickets. All frequent users naturally have a 30 day (or even 1 year) pass :)
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