Organization of public transport in Kuopio urban area
Vilkku buses serve all passengers in the Kuopio urban area and areas nearby. Provision of safe, comprehensive, affordable public transport that is accessible to all people living and travelling in the area is the cornerstone of Vilkku’s policy. Encouraging people to switch from private cars to public transport is part of the green strategy pursued by Vilkku. Persistent systematic development of services is the key to that end.
The Public Transport Committee of the City of Kuopio acts as the joint competent local authority in accordance with the collaboration agreement signed by Kuopio and Siilinjärvi. Kuopio acts as the so called host municipality and has undertaken the duties of the competent authority.
The responsibility for organizing public transport used to rest on service operators until it was transferred to the competent local authorities in 2014 empowering the municipalities to define the level of public transport services in their area rather than leaving it to the market forces, in accordance with the provisions of the EU regulation. On 26 April 2018, The Public Transport Committee of the City of Kuopio decided to implement the regulation.
Kuopio region Public Transport Vilkku is a mixture of public transport services put out to tender by the City of Kuopio as the competent authority and North Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, and market-based public transport operating mainly on long distances. Long distance trains also operate in the region under the authority of Ministry of Transport and Communication.