Price hike for public transport tickets

A ticket inspector on a commuter train from Lausanne to Brig Keystone

Switzerland’s public transport service remains tops but consumers faced above average ticket prices over the past five years, a study has found.

Swiss public transport prices remain average, however, when compared with six other European countries – Germany, France, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria.

The surveyExternal link, published on Wednesday by the information service for public transport (LITRA), is a follow-up of a 2013 price comparison study.

“The great strengths of Swiss public transport are, as before, the very high service quality and the direct transport system that offers the facility to cross the entire country by various means of transport with a single ticket,” the service’s statement said.

“In a cross-comparison, Switzerland still offers the best price-performance ratio.”

Future pricing

The study found that the range of saver tickets has expanded in all seven countries. Price differentiation depending on the time of booking and travel is particularly advanced in Britain.

Researchers examined 14 travel situations for different age groups. The service was assessed based on four quality criteria, including punctuality and offer density.

LITRA, set up in 1936, is the mouthpiece for the Federal Railways, the licenced public regional and transport companies, including trams, trains, boats and cable cars, as well as Post Office buses.

Meanwhile, the president of the Federal Railways, Monika Ribar, says the state-owned company aimed to keep ticket prices unchanged over a longer period. In interviews with several newspapers, Ribar said digitalisation and other innovative technology might even help lower them.

However, the company has announced higher ticket prices for December due to increased track prices.