This press release was originally published by the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL). You can found the original release here: http://www.syl.fi/2016/02/16/cheaper-train-tickets-for-students/?lan=english
Finnish student organisations and VR have reached an agreement on intensifying collaboration in order to increase students’ travel by train. As VR permanently lower prices also student tickets become more affordable.
VR is lowering the long-distance fares on average 25%. The new pricing also applies to student tickets. Students will receive a 30% discount on the price for a Basic ticket at the time of purchase.
The most affordable alternative for students as well as others will be the new Saver ticket. The fare for a Saver ticket is the same for everyone and no additional discounts apply. A limited number of Saver tickets are available for each departure.
An example: A student travelling from Oulu to Tampere has previously paid 36.10 euro for their ticket. With the new discount, the student fare for is 31 euro, or for the most affordable ticket, the Saver ticket, 25.10 euro.
The new pricing applies to domestic long-distance tickets and discounts. The student discount for local and zone traffic remains at 50%, since the fares for these are not lowered as for long-distance tickets. The new pricing does not affect the pricing of HSL tickets or HSL discounts.
– More affordable train tickets are welcome news from a student perspective. The amount of money students spend on travelling is a mandatory expense for many of them. Therefore, cheaper tickets means students have more money for other costs of living, say the chairpersons of the student organisations Elli Luukkainen (SLL), Heikki Koponen (SYL), Jemi Heinilä (SAMOK), and Musa Jallow (SAKKI).
– Students travel a lot, and we see them as an important customer group. Through this agreement we will intensify marketing collaboration and together develop services designed to make travel easier for students, particularly digital services, says Maisa Romanainen, Senior Vice President, Passenger Services.
– Travel discounts are very important for students. Together with VR, we will start developing easy-to-use travel services and content for students, says Tiia Lehtola, Managing Director at the students’ national discount service Frank.
Read more about VR’s new pricing online vr.fi/uusihinta/en
The new pricing is effective as of today. You can buy your ticket on any of the available sales channels.
Contact details:
Elisa Tarkiainen, Secretary General, The Union of Upper Secondary Students in Finland (SLL), 040 077 4789, elisa.tarkiainen@lukio.fi
Antti Malste, Secretary General, The National Union of Vocational Students in Finland SAKKI, 050 3100 570, antti.malste@sakkinet.fi
Milla Halme, Director of Advocacy, University of Applied Sciences Students in Finland SAMOK, 050 389 1018, milla.halme@samok.fi
Juha Töyrylä, Secretary General, the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) 041 515 2229, juha.toyryla@syl.fi
Tiia Lehtola, Frank Students, 040 771 3581, tiia@frank.fi,http://www.frank.fi
VR Group’s mediadesk, 0307 0123. The media desk is open 24/7.
Frank was founded in 2013 and is the students’ own discount service, gathering all student discounts in Finland on one website. Frank offers valuable discounts for students. For companies, Frank is a way to reach the diverse group of students in Finland. In cooperation with Elisa, Frank also offers student identification services, such as the national student card. The owners of Frank are the national student organisations SYL, SAMOK, SLL, and SAKKI together with Kilroy Finland. Kilroy is the leading Nordic travel agency for youth and students. http://www.frank.fi
VR Group is a diverse service company in the field of travel, logistics, and infrastructure. The environment and sustainability are important values for the VR Group. The group has around 9,000 employees. VR Group’s main focus is Finland, but it also has operations abroad, particularly in Russia and Sweden. http://www.vrgroup.fi