Journey Planner turns 10

On its tenth anniversary in November this year, the Journey Planner is one of the most popular online services in Finland. The Planner allows users to find the best transport routes in the metropolitan area.

On a typical weekday, the service attracts roughly 150,000 visitors. When timetables change seasonally, the number of daily visitors can be up to 200,000.

Project Manager Jari Honkonen, responsible for the development of the Journey Planner, emphasizes the importance of usability. “Our goal is to provide users with the most intuitive user experience possible. This means simple search functions and clear travel instructions.”

User experiences of the Journey Planner are mainly positive. In a survey conducted annually, the Journey Planner has repeatedly ranked among the top Finnish internet brands.

“The Journey Planner is also a good example of successful public administration. The end result is a cost-effective IT investment,” Honkonen says. “The open interface can also be utilized free of charge in electronic services provided by other organizations. The operating cost of the Journey Planner is less than 50 cents per visitor in a year.”

Engineering student Mika Vuorio started to develop the Journey Planner in 2000 together with his fellow students Roope Luhtala and Atte Saarela. The project developed into a business, and in 2001 the trio’s enterprise was awarded the contract to develop a new journey planning service for YTV, the predecessor of Helsinki Region Transport.

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