Instructions for using the HSL card
Where can you get an HSL card, and how do you top it up? Where can you check the value balance on your card? This page provides guidance and instructions on using the HSL card and Ticket Store.
Top up your HSL card online
You can top up your HSL card in the online Ticket Store. You can easily top up value or season tickets anytime, anywhere. Tickets are available for all zones and customer groups. You can also top up someone else’s HSL card.
Check your card balance in your HSL account
You can check your season tickets and value balance online in your HSL account. Log in to your account at tili.hsl.fi or via the Log in link in the top right corner of any page on hsl.fi. Use your HSL credentials to access your account.
How to get and top up an HSL card
You can buy an HSL card at a service point. Please bring a driver's license, passport, or ID card. A new card costs €5.
A child's parent or next of kin can purchase an HSL card for a child. The child does not need to be present at the service point, but the parent or next of kin must be able to provide the child's personal identity code and certain details (e.g. a local address). The identity of the parent or next of kin will be verified.
You can top up your HSL card with a season ticket for 14, 30 or 360 days. For value, the minimum top-up amount is €5, and the maximum balance allowed on the card is €400.
You can top up your HSL card with a season ticket or value online in the HSL Ticket Store, as well as at all HSL sales and service points.
To check the tickets and value balance on your HSL card, log in to your HSL account and go to My information. You can log in at tili.hsl.fi or via the Log in button in the top right corner of any page on hsl.fi.
You can also check the tickets and value balance on your HSL card by holding your card on a card reader on board a vehicle or at a station. The following information will show up on the display after about five seconds:
- the value balance on the card
- your season ticket, if you have one, and its expiry date
- any valid single ticket(s)
- and the expiry time of the single ticket’s transfer time.
The My Travel Card app no longer reads HSL cards because the HSL card's backend system has been replaced.
You can check the tickets on your child's HSL card at a card reader; you can't yet see them in your HSL account. You can also check the balance via our phone service or at the HSL or a municipal service point. In these cases, proof of identity is required.
Does your employer offer you a commuter benefit? You can use your Epassi, Edenred, Smartum or Zevoy commuter benefit to buy HSL single, day, multi-journey and season tickets. You can use your commuter benefit to top up your personal HSL card at the HSL service point in Tripla, at some municipal service points, and at R-kiosks.
Please note that the maximum balance for your HSL account (in practice, your HSL card) is €400. For example, if you already have €300 in your HSL account, you can use your commuter benefit to add up to €100 more.
Buying tickets and traveling
Show your HSL card or debit/credit card to the card reader when you board a bus at the start of your journey or change between services. If you have a valid ticket, you do not need to press any buttons.
On commuter trains, trams, orange trunk route buses and the Metro, you only need to show your card to a ticket inspector or conductor if asked.
Buy a single ticket using value on your HSL card or with contactless payment at the start of your journey, when you board a vehicle. When traveling on the Metro, buy your ticket before you take the escalator down to the Metro platform. Follow these steps:
1. Select the zones.
Use the arrow button to move between views if need be.
If the correct ticket is not shown on the first view, use the arrow button to go to the second view.
2. Pay with your HSL card or debit or credit card. All done!
You can buy tickets for one or more people travelling with you. You can use an adult HSL card or contactless payment to buy tickets for other adults, or a child HSL card to buy tickets for children.
You can’t buy tickets one by one, for example, first for yourself and then for others. You must buy all the tickets in a single transaction. Follow these steps:
1. Select the zones.
Use the arrow button to move between views if need be.
If the correct ticket is not shown on the first view, use the arrow button to go to the second view.
2 Press the “Add passengers” button.
3. Select the number of tickets and press OK.
If you have a valid season ticket, buy single tickets only for those who do not have one. Do not include yourself in the count.
4. Pay with your HSL card or debit or credit card. All done!
If you have a valid season ticket, you can expand your travel area by buying a zone extension ticket. If you have a season ticket on your HSL card, you can only buy zone extension tickets using the card. Follow these steps:
1. Select the zones.
Include all zones you will travel through, including the zones of your season ticket.
If the correct ticket is not shown on the first view, use the arrow button to go to the second view.
2. Pay with your HSL card.
The price of the zone extension ticket will be charged to your value balance.
3. A screen with green borders indicates that your purchase was successful.
Problem solving
If your place of residence, work or study has moved outside the HSL area, you can apply for a refund online. You can also apply online for a retroactive refund for periods spent in hospital. Go to online refund application forms.
Other enquiries, refunds and claims related to the HSL card are handled at the HSL service point and municipal service points. When visiting a service point, you must present proof of identity. Refunds must be claimed within two months from the date on which the grounds for the claim first arose, or in the case of refunds due to an unexpected change in life circumstances, within one year.
For detailed instructions on refunds for season tickets and value on HSL cards, please see our Conditions of Carriage and Ticket Terms and Conditions.
Sales points (such as R-kiosks and other retailers) aim to correct their own mistakes. Tickets and value purchases can be cancelled at the point of sale within 12 hours of purchase, but only on the same day.
If your card is not working as it should, please contact customer service. You can contact our customer service by phone or via chat (in Finnish only) or by visiting our service point.
If you lose your HSL card, any season tickets or value balance on your card are safe in your HSL account. However, the lost HSL card must be deactivated so that someone else can’t use the season ticket or value on the card. See here for more information on what to do if you have lost your HSL card.
You can get a new HSL card from a service point. Please bring a driver’s license, passport or ID card. A new card costs €5. If you have a season ticket or any remaining balance on your lost card, it can be transferred to the new card for an additional service fee of €1.
HSL card
You can use the HSL card to pay for all your public transport fares in the HSL area