The new semester has started and new and previously started students have arrived on the campuses. The new semester has brought challenging reforms and the situation for students in Porvoo has become even more difficult. The academic performance of students traveling between Helsinki-Porvoo is threatened by Onnibus’s public transport pricing and by the responsibilities that came with Haaga-Helia’s attendance reform.
Onnibus is the largest public transport between Helsinki and Porvoo, which has created a monopoly for it and its umbrella organization Koiviston Auto. Thanks to its monopoly position, the company has no competitors and thus it can make choices in which it tries to maximize the best result for the company. This has been seen, for example, in the pricing of public transport and, most recently, in the reforms of its long-distance transport routes and schedules.
Koiviston Auto has reduced the times on the Helsinki-Porvoo route, which were previously accessible using season and series tickets. In addition, you cannot get a student discount for these ticket types. The student discount is only available for certain shifts if the ticket is purchased in advance on the Onnibus website. Even after the discount, the ticket price can be from 6.50 €, but still up to 10 € one way.
“Many students don’t even get the chance to fall in love with Porvoo as a new place to study, when so many disadvantages hit them right in the face,” says Vilma Kekarainen, president of the student association HePo ry, which operates on the Porvoo campus.
Due to Haaga-Helia’s attendance reform that came into effect this fall, students are required to attend all face-to-face, online and blended courses for at least 75% and to show activity. If the student does not attend at least 75%, it will affect the grade, and more than 50% absence will lead to rejection from the course. This obliges, for example, Porvoo campus students living in Helsinki to travel to Porvoo even more in order to be able to perform in their studies, which again is expensive for the student. Students living in Porvoo are also not spared the cost of public transport, because, for example, in order to use FSHS student health services, they have to travel to Helsinki, where the nearest FSHS serive unit is. Students living in Porvoo also do internships or apply for jobs in Helsinki during their studies, because there are not enough jobs for students in Porvoo.
“Haaga-Helia’s attendance reform, combined with Koiviston Auto’s high public transport costs, makes studying in Porvoo financially unsustainable for many students. The company’s prices force students to combine work and study under challenging conditions, which pushes them into a difficult situation,” says Ilona Hirvonen, chairperson of the board of Student Union Helga.
A 30-day season ticket between Helsinki and Porvoo costs a student 189 €, and a 40-trip series ticket, which is valid for 200 days, costs 249 €. Traveling by bus from Helsinki to Porvoo takes up to 200 € a month from the student’s finances. According to the Eurostudent VIII study conducted in 2022, the median monthly income of university students was 998 € and the expenses of a single student household were 848 € on average. According to the study, the transport costs for a student were around 40 €. The expenses of a student in Porvoo just for transport go beyond all reasonableness. It should also be noted that in addition to traveling to study, you often also have to purchase an HSL monthly ticket, which increases expenses by another 40 €.
In the future, the students’ financial situation will become even more unstable. In September, the value added tax will be increased from 24% to 25.5% and next year the students are supposed to be transferred back to the student aid housing supplement, which is estimated to reduce the student’s livelihood by up to 130 € per month. At the same time, Haaga-Helia’s attendance reform complicates the students’ already difficult livelihood situation by worsening their employment opportunities.
Student Union of Haaga-Helia – Helga and Haaga-Helia’s Porvoo campus student association HePo ry demand Koiviston Auto to take students and the importance of the student discount into account in its operations. Both Helga and HePo ry see that a monopoly position also includes social responsibility.
More information:
Ilona Hirvonen
Chairperson of the Board
ilona.hirvonen@helga.fi
+358 45 809 4116
Student Union of Haaga-Helia – Helga
Vilma Kekarainen
Chairperson
vilma.kekarainen@hepory.com
HePo ry
