Joona Packalén

Joona Packalén will speak about

«The future of mobility: Journey Planner as the key to seamless travel»

HSL’s Journey Planner is evolving into a smart travel companion at the heart of the user experience. It leverages enriched, real-time data from all transport modes and the environment — not just public transport, but all mobility-related services. Supporting seamless multimodal travel, it combines public transport, shared mobility, micromobility, and demand-based services into a single interface. As a true travel companion, it guides users every step of the way — from planning to real-time navigation and disruption handling. The solution is an example of a platform where a public authority acts as an enabler, developed within the national Digitransit community to support an open, scalable, and market-friendly mobility ecosystem.

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«Unified passenger information: Breaking transport mode barriers»

Unified passenger information is key to seamless, user-centric mobility. Yet fragmented responsibilities, legacy systems, and mode-specific infrastructures still hinder cross-modal consistency. In an ongoing HSL project, hardware, software, and ITxPT-based systems are being aligned to create a unified framework across all transport modes. This enables seamless real-time information flows and supports multimodal trips. The mission is to create true interoperability, ultimately benefiting customers by providing clear, reliable, and seamless travel information throughout their entire journey. Additionally, by avoiding proprietary systems, the solution reduces costs, simplifies lifecycle management, and enables faster time to market, ensuring long-term sustainability.

 

Joona Packalén is Head of Information at HSL (Helsinki Region Transport), where he has worked since 2017. He leads travel information teams responsible for the development of information services across both digital and physical environments — including passenger information systems, physical signage, and journey planners.

He has a background in the transport sector and expertise in public procurement, human geography, and administrative sciences.

Packalén combines administrative insight with technical knowledge to develop sustainable and user-oriented transport solutions