All children under seven years old can travel for free on OSL buses. If a child under seven travels alone on OSL buses, they must show their personal OSL card, which has a travel ticket loaded onto it, to the ticket machine when boarding. The travel ticket for children under seven is priced at zero.
When and why the practice comes into effect
The practice will come into effect when schools start the autumn term on August 6, with a three-week transition period. By September 1 at the latest, unaccompanied children under seven must have a loaded travel ticket on their OSL card.
Some children will be six years old when school begins. Children under seven travel for free on OSL transportation. Verifying a child’s right to travel is challenging for drivers. Children usually do not carry any identification and determining a child’s age based on external appearance is difficult. Thanks to this procedure, customer service on buses runs more smoothly, and boarding is recorded correctly by the fare collection device.
How to obtain an OSL card for your child
You can get an OSL card for your child starting school at the age of six for 3.80 euros (including VAT 14 %) from the Oulu10 service point. You must have your child’s Kela card or some other official identification document with you at the service point. You will receive the OSL card for your child immediately.
For the time being, the OSL card for children aged 0–6 years cannot be ordered from the Waltti online store.
A small amount (1.30 euros) is loaded onto the child’s OSL card upon its establishment due to the technical requirements of the ticket system. When the child turns seven, their OSL card will automatically be updated to the next customer group (children aged 7–16 years) based on their social security number. At that time, tickets at the child 7–16 years price can be loaded onto their OSL card, and the amount loaded when establishing the card can be used for ticket purchases.
Teach your child how to use public transportation
A child under seven years old traveling alone must show their OSL card to the ticket machine when boarding.
As needed, accompany your child and travel with them on the bus until the child learns to travel independently by bus and observe traffic. If your child has a smartphone, teach them to check schedules from the OSL app’s route guide.
Groups of children under seven years old
Children aged 0-6 traveling in a group do not need a personal OSL card and ticket. The size of the group entitled to free travel can be a maximum of four children per accompanying adult. The adult must have a valid ticket belonging to the adult customer group.
If the accompanying adult has more than four children under seven in their group, four children travel for free, and tickets must be purchased for the other children in the group. With two accompanying adults, up to eight children aged 0-6 can ride for free.