HS Turku | This is how trams would change the everyday life of Mikko Koho, who lives in the center

If trams will start running in Turku in 2030, at least jump on board Mikko Koho31.

According to a survey conducted in Turku, he belongs to the minority, as most of the city’s residents oppose the tramway.

Koho works in the center of Turku and studies political history and creative writing at the university. He states that the tramway would make it easier to travel not only to the workplace but also to the university, the port, the hospital – and “pretty much everywhere”.

Now Koho travels to work on foot, to studies by bus and to hobbies often with friends. He himself would use the trolley every day or almost every day, both for university and hobby transfers.

It would also be easier to go to larger markets.

“I think the wheelbarrow is an easier option in many ways. Nowadays, I have to use the Föli application to follow where the bus is going. Schedules don’t always work, and it’s often a couple of minutes either on time or late.”

Shorter service intervals than a tram bus would mean that you would no longer have to wait for the application.

“At the tram stop, I have to wait for the next car for seven and a half minutes at most.”

According to Koho, the tram is also a spacious and ergonomic alternative to the bus: passengers and luggage, such as hobby kits and shopping, fit better in the tram than in a bus.

Turku the cost estimate for the tramway is 344 million euros, of which the state’s share is approximately 30 percent. If everything goes according to plan, the planning phase of the tramway project will be able to start in May 2024. The planning phase is estimated to last about one and a half years.

However, the fact that Turku will have a tramway is not yet certain. The fate of the tram will be decided by the Turku City Council at the end of 2025.

Float thinks of the tramway as an artery: it connects people and transports them from one place to another.

“The potential working area will also expand, especially if further connections materialize,” he says.

According to Koho, the wheel makes traveling predictable. By predictability, he means that once the rails are built, they will always be in place.

“Entrepreneurs’ and residents’ lives will be easier when they don’t have to think about whether transport connections will remain in the place where they founded their business or where they bought their apartment.”

Also According to the report commissioned by the city of Turku in the spring of 2023, the residents perceive the tramway project’s positive effects as the attractiveness of the Turku region and the increase in mobility opportunities. The negative effects include, for example, traffic inconveniences during construction and the costs of the project.

The majority of people from Turku oppose the Satama-Varissuo tramway: 41 percent support it and 57 percent oppose it.

The business community, authorities and schools see the tramway as having a positive effect on urban development and the attractiveness of the region. It is an investment in a vibrant and growing Turku. Instead, operators, for example, are more critical of the project: its benefits are seen as too small compared to the costs.

Although the tramway project is an expensive investment, also in Turku Juha-Matti Toivola65, hopes that Turku will have trams in 2030. According to him, Turku needs a new transport investment.

“If it’s not a tram, it could be an electric bus or light rail. At least in the world, these work quite well,” he says.

Toivola lives right next to the center of Turku, near the railway station. The tram route is planned in such a way that it runs from the other side of the residential building.

Today, Toivola moves to the city center mainly on foot, and longer journeys are made by own car. The trolley would bring a new, nimble opportunity to get around the neighborhood and a direct route to the port and to the other side of the city.

“It would certainly come into use. Especially as you get older, walking can become burdensome.”

Koho and Toivola think that the planned tramway is a project that will increase Turku’s vitality and is a much-needed reform that will get the townspeople moving. You could get to the port and the eastern parts of the city by tram, but it would also make getting around the center easier.

Scheduled tramway travels with 19 stops in tactics. The University of Turku, Turku Science Park, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Turku University Central Hospital, Kupittaa Sports Center and Kupittaa Railway Station are located along the route.

Kupitta is a hub for education, business life and traffic, where a tram could bring much-needed clarity. Mikko Koho also brings up the reliability of everyday maintenance: after decades, there may be moments when, for example, trains do not run.

“Turu should have a variety of public transport vehicles that complement each other in exceptional situations. And on the other hand, if we think about security of supply in times of crisis, combustion engine traffic and private cars are easily the first to fade due to fuel prices or availability.”

Koho regularly travels to his home in the capital region, and the trolley is already a familiar means of transport for him.

“The tram already operates in Helsinki and Tampere, now also in Vantaa. Why couldn’t it also work in Turku?” he ponders.