Transport and Travel

Long Distances

Besides by car, the Jyväskylä Region is accessible by plane, coach and train.

Jyväskylä Airport is located in Tikkakoski, about 20 kilometres north of Jyväskylä, offering daily connections to e.g. Helsinki (see e.g. Finnair)

Jyväskylä is accessible by car by various highways (4, E75, 9, E63, 13 and 23). For example, the distance between the capital Helsinki and Jyväskylä is about 270 driving kilometers.

Only persons over the age of 18 are allowed to drive a car, provided that they possess a valid driver’s licence issued either in Finland or in a country which has signed international conventions. Road users must follow traffic regulations. Cars and other motor vehicles as well as bikes drive on the right side of the road. The use of safety belts is compulsory in a car, and cars must be registered and officially inspected. A driver who has used drugs or has a blood alcohol content of 0.5 ‰ or higher is convicted of drunken driving.

In the centre of Jyväskylä, all parking is chargeable and only allowed on separately indicated parking places. There are also several multi-storey car parks in the centre.

The Travel Centre (Matkakeskus) in the centre of Jyväskylä (Hannikaisenkatu 20) serves both as train and bus station (VR, Matkahuolto, ExpressBus). At Matkakeskus you can buy train tickets and long distance bus tickets.

The bus station of Saarijärvi is located in the city centre at Torikatu.

VR (Valtion rautatiet, the Finnish State Railways) grants a 50% student discount on both one-way and return tickets upon showing a student union card approved by VR or the joint student card of VR and Matkahuolto. Only persons studying in Finland are granted this discount. Further information: Student discount for foreign students (the website of VR)

There are two types of buses: regular service buses (vakiovuoro), which stop at every bus stop if needed, and express coaches (pikavuoro), which usually stop only at the places indicated on the schedule. Coach tickets can be bought before the trip on the website of Matkahuolto, at the office of Matkahuolto, or on the bus. Students are granted a 50% discount if the one-way trip is not shorter than 80 kilometres. The discount is granted upon presentation of a student union card with a Matkahuolto logo on it, or the joint student card of Matkahuolto and VR. Further information: Student discount (the website of Matkahuolto)

Journey.fi is a national route planner service which makes it easy to look for public transport connections between street addresses in given locations.

Local Buses

The local bus company, Jyväskylän Liikenne, is in charge of local bus transport:

• Bus stops and timetables of local buses in Jyväskylä
• Local bus routes
• Map of Jyväskylä > Map view > Bus routes
• Journey.fi

A single adult ticket within the Jyväskylä city area costs 3 euros (6 euros between 23.00-04.00). Single tickets are bought on the bus. Students can buy student-priced monthly travel cards or multi-tickets of 10 or 40 trips. All student tickets are personal.

A monthly travel card entitles its owner to an unlimited number of trips on the buses of Jyväskylän Liikenne Ltd. within the area of the city of Jyväskylä and a zone of 9 kilometres around the city. Monthly travel cards for students:

• 30 days: 53 euros
• 30 days for students registered in the city of Jyväskylä: 44 euros

Students must prove their student status every year and those registered in Jyväskylä also their place of residence.

Multi-tickets for students:

• 10 trips cost 22 euros (valid for 12 months after the first date of use)
• 40 trips cost 47 euros for students registered in the city of Jyväskylä (valid for 180 days)

A re-loadable travel card costs 3 euros. Multi-tickets can be re-loaded on the buses. Student status must be verified when buying or loading student-priced tickets.

Monthly travel cards and multi-tickets can be purchased at

• Sokos department store / information desk, Kauppakatu 24
• Matkakeskus / Travel Centre, Oy Matkahuolto Ab, Hannikaisenkatu 20
• Jyväskylän Liikenne Ltd, Sorastajantie 5
• Jyväskylä Regional Tourist Information, Vapaudenkatu 53

Taxis

Jyväskylän Aluetaksi (Jyväskylä Regional Taxi) covers the city of Jyväskylä and Muurame. To call a taxi, please dial

• Ordinary taxis and taxi buses: +358 100 6900
• Disabled taxis: +358 100 6999

In the centre of Jyväskylä, there are taxi stands at the market place (Tori), the Travel Centre (Matkakeskus) and the City Church Park (Kirkkopuisto).

In Saarijärvi there is a taxi station at the bus station and in the centre (Torikatu). The phone number of the taxi station is 0200 50 700. Taxis of different sizes and disabled taxis are also available.

Taxi fares in Finland:

• Starting fee is 5,30 euros on weekdays 6.00-20.00, Saturdays and eves 6.00-16.00
• At other times the starting fee is 8,30 euros
• Waiting tariff is 39,50 euros / hour
• Advance order is 6,40 euros

Journey fare:

Walking and Cycling

Most services are located within a convenient walking or cycling distance in Jyväskylä. Walking and cycling routes are marked on the map of Jyväskylä (Map view > Bicycle tracks) and on the printed cycling and park map of Jyväskylä. The map can be bought at Jyväskylä Regional Tourist Office (Asemakatu 6).

Saarijärvi is a small rural town and in the centre most services can be reached on foot. In the map service of Saarijärvi (only in Finnish) you can see where different services are located.

Pedestrians must wear reflectors when walking on unlit roads at dark, and cyclists are strongly recommended to wear helmets. Pedestrians and cyclists usually share the sidewalks, but in some streets in the centre of Jyväskylä, cyclists must use the car lane and follow the same rules as cars. It is possible to find a bike at a very low price, for example, at the auctions organised by the local police, or at flea markets.

Links

Planning a journey (Finnish Transport Agency)

• Includes a motorist’s road map and information on distances in Finland
• Links to route planning services

Travel and Traffic Information (Finnish Transport Agency)

• Includes information on weather, road conditions, traffic situations, web cameras

Liikenneturva

• Traffic regulations in Finland etc.