The Vartiosaari ferry will be available again this summer. The project will be implemented based on the proposal selected by vote during the first round of the OmaStadi participatory budgeting process.
During the summer months, the ferry will run daily and the intention is to continue at weekends in September.
The City of Helsinki has selected Reposalmen lautturit Oy as the company to provide the ferry services in the Reposalmi area. The company was established and is operated by active residents of the Laajasalo district.
“I am very happy that last summer’s trial will be continued this year. This is a wonderful example of how ecological and sensible solutions can be deployed through brainstorming and development with local residents,” says Tapio Rossi, Water Transport Ombudsman for the City of Helsinki.
Reposalmi ferry link to Vartiosaari implemented through the OmaStadi programme
In the summer of 2020, a small partially solar-powered ferry accommodating roughly 6 people operated across Reposalmi on a trial basis. A ferryman with a boat operator’s qualifications was hired to helm the vessel.
Based on the experiences of last summer, the City arranged a competitive bidding process for the solar-power ferry link. The ferry will continue running for as long as the appropriation reserved for the project lasts, which will be about 3–4 years.
The idea for the connecting vessel for Vartiosaari cam in through Helsinki’s participatory budgeting programme OmaStadi. The proposal gained 1,626 votes in OmaStadi’s first round vote.
OmaStadi’s second round co-creation phase has just ended, and Helsinki residents will get to vote on new proposals next autumn.
Read more:
Vartiosaari website(Link leads to external service) (In Finnish)
OmaStadi(Link leads to external service)
Solar-powered ferry(Link leads to external service)
Monitoring the implementation of the OmaStadi first round of proposals(Link leads to external service)
Photo: Pauli Saloranta.