Skip to main content

Finnish border crossing booking service aims to reduce congestion

Part of the Finnish intelligent transportation strategy, a new booking service for Russia-bound traffic at the Vaalimaa border crossing point in Finland aims to evaluate ways of reducing future peak-hour traffic, with the objective of streamlining traffic flow and increasing road safety by smoothing traffic volumes. The service becomes available for freight traffic on 15 December and for passenger traffic on 19 January 2015. The service is free of charge for users and is mandatory for all drivers using t
December 4, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Part of the Finnish intelligent transportation strategy, a new booking service for Russia-bound traffic at the Vaalimaa border crossing point in Finland aims to evaluate ways of reducing future peak-hour traffic, with the objective of streamlining traffic flow and increasing road safety by smoothing traffic volumes.

The service becomes available for freight traffic on 15 December and for passenger traffic on 19 January 2015. The service is free of charge for users and is mandatory for all drivers using the Vaalimaa border crossing point only and travelling from Finland to Russia.

Drivers can book in advance online, at self-service kiosks or via a 24/7 call centre, or they can join the live queue at the self-service terminal at Vaalimaa. Cameras will identify the licence plate of vehicles booked in advance.

The project was developed by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY) and the Finnish Transport Agency, and is hosted by GoSwift.  It also involves the Customs, Finnish and Russian Border Guards and the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

According to project manager Jyrki Järvinen of the ELY for south-east Finland, “the electronic booking system is a less expensive way to ease traffic congestion than construction of new roads and lanes.”

Related Content

  • Road safety systems on show at ITS World Congress
    January 30, 2012
    A vast array of new products and systems for aiding road safety were displayed at the ITS World Congress in October. David Crawford assesses a selection of safety initiatives exhibited in Orlando. Vital roles for ITS applications in road traffic safety emerge clearly from a new report from the US Transportation Safety Advancement Group. The report has been carried out for the Next Generation 911 What's Next Forum, which is preparing the way for future development of the US national 911 emergency single call
  • Dynamic lane closures cuts time, cost and congestion on Motorway roadworks
    March 17, 2014
    A combination of technologies is leading to major congestion and cost reductions during roadworks on the UK’s motorway network. Innovative construction programme scheduling technology and the deployment of moveable barriers has achieved substantial savings of money and time on UK motorway roadworks managed by the Highways Agency (HA). This combination has set the scene for a new generation of road usage analysis tools. The HA’s objective was to reduce the congestion caused by lane closures during roa
  • Columbia goes intermodal to support sustainability
    April 10, 2014
    David Crawford on the ups and downs of a Latin metropolis. Medellín, Colombia’s second city and a recognised leader in sustainable transport thinking, is rapidly extending its substantial existing investment in modern mobility. It is deploying both an enhanced integrated traffic management array and the country’s first intermodal public transportation management system. The supplier of both, under separate €9 million (US$12.3 million) contracts, is Spanish engineering company Indra, a major exporter
  • Advanced ITS truck screening aids border control
    March 14, 2012
    State-of-the-art ITS technologies are being deployed for tracking of commercial vehicles at the US-Mexico border in Arizona, reports Pete Goldin. The border between the US and Mexico may be the epitome of America's wild west, but this remote desert frontier is being tamed by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) with a state-of-the-art ITS system. A comprehensive port-of-entry (POE) screening system is being deployed at the Mariposa Port of Entry – one of the busiest land ports in the nation – at