Southwest Finland (Photo Credit: Antti Vaalikivi)

The Regional Council of Southwest Finland Surveyed Residents' Views on Regional Transport

The Regional Council of Southwest Finland is responsible for the transport system in the region and the Turku urban area. Transport planning is often perceived as the planning and developing of municipal street networks. However, regional transport solutions, transport connections, and services affect our everyday lives.

That is why the Regional Council carried out a regional survey for residents about their views on walking, cycling, public transport, and other transport-related issues.

Using the Information Collected

The information collected will be used in various ways, including:

Transport planning
Supporting policymaking
Prioritising transport projects in Southwest Finland

Information on residents' mobility habits and views on transport development is highly valuable when planning a multimodal traffic network that takes different modes of transport into account.

Surveys as a Functional Tool

According to the Transport Environment Survey, residents see electronic surveys as the most meaningful way to participate in developing transport conditions. Today, publishing electronic surveys is easy, but it is essential to first plan:

What information is needed
Why it is needed
How it will be used afterwards

This was the second time the Transport Environment Survey was conducted across the region. In the future, the survey will be repeated every few years to gather comparable information on mobility trends and potential shifts in residents’ attitudes.

Key Findings

While detailed results will be published at the end of February, an initial look shows a shift in attitudes towards regional train traffic:

In 2021, introducing a regional train service ranked as the fifth most important public transport measure.
In the 2024 survey, it rose to second place.

According to respondents, the most important public transport measure remains the development of regional bus connections between municipal centres.

Utilising Survey Data

The information gathered through the survey has already been used to plan and evaluate projects. Municipalities and other planning organisations will also have access to the survey data if they wish.

The data can be valuable to a wide range of stakeholders involved in developing public transport services and routes in the region.

Click the link below to view the survey results, available online in Finnish.

View Results

Author: Marja Tommola (Valonia)