Comments invited: Knowledge base for publicly supported transport to be improved

Comments invited: Knowledge base for publicly supported transport to be improved

A person in a wheel chair gets on a taxi. (Image: Shutterstock)

The Ministry of Transport and Communications requests comments on a draft government proposal for temporarily amending the Act on Transport Services. The proposal aims to centralise data on publicly supported passenger transport services in one place to make the data more accessible. The deadline for submitting comments is 5 February 2025.

The Government proposes an experiment where a temporary act of fixed-term duration would provide Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, with right of access to information on the transport services organised under the Social Welfare Act, Disability Services Act and Health Care Act by the wellbeing services counties of Kainuu, Central Ostrobothnia, Lapland and North Ostrobothnia. Traficom would also have access to data on the taxi journeys reimbursed from the Social Insurance Institution's (Kela) health insurance in these counties' areas of operation.

The data accessed by Traficom would relate to the demand, supply and delivery of transport services. Data would be collected in 2026 and 2027. The experiment would not change the way transport is organised. Customers would therefore not notice any changes in their transport services.

The government proposal would make the necessary legislative amendments to enable data submission to Traficom. Currently, the data is fragmented and owned by several operators. The experiment aims to improve the knowledge base and understanding of how the publicly supported transport services are organised. The knowledge base would make it possible to draw up and assess more detailed development plans and help secure transport services in the future.

Pressure to develop the organisation of transport services

The annual cost of publicly supported transport to society exceeds EUR 1.2 billion. Transport services for the health and social services account for about one quarter of this, excluding ambulance transport. Together with the state of the general government finances, the constantly rising transport costs put pressure on the organisers to develop service delivery.

Publicly supported transport services are organised under the administrative branches of five ministries, and currently the information on the services is fragmented. The proposal would allow making the data available in place. Although the proposal would make it possible to collect data on certain transport services only on an experimental and regional basis, the results of the experiment could be utilised at the national level.

What's next?

The deadline for submitting comments is 5 February 2025. All organisations and private individuals may submit comments at www.lausuntopalvelu.fi.

Public officials will continue the law drafting after the consultation round. The legislative amendments are intended to enter into force on 1 July 2025.

Inquiries:

Atte Riihelä, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 50 473 9171, atte.riihela(at)gov.fi
Jenni Rantio, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 205, jenni.rantio(at)gov.fi

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