Easter traffic: how the Swiss deal with traffic jams

What should be done to reduce traffic congestions? Join the debate on "dialogue"! KEYSTONE/Urs Flueeler

Various ideas are being considered to combat daily and annual traffic congestion: from artificially created traffic jams to a "slot system" or even the expansion of motorways. Read about some of the most frequently discussed measures and join the debate on "dialogue"!

It makes the news every year: long lines of cars in front of the Gotthard Road Tunnel around Easter, heading south to canton Ticino. This year is no exception. However, there are several ideas on how traffic congestion can be prevented or reduced.

New record for congestion hours

The kilometre-long Easter traffic jams are once again making headlines. But there are also traffic jams in many other parts of Switzerland. So much so that traffic congestion has reached a new record.

According to the latest figure from the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO)External link, traffic was congested for 39,863 hours in 2022. This is an increase of 22.7% compared to the previous year, and the highest figure ever recorded.

According to FEDRO, more than half of the congestion hours were measured in the regions of Zurich/Aargau, Basel, Bern/Solothurn, Lucerne, Ticino, and Lake Geneva.

Most congestion hours are due to road overload. The national road network is so heavily congested in many places that even minor disruptions lead to long traffic jams.

A selection of articles on the topic

The editorial team behind “dialogue”, a project run by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, has put together a selection of articles and multimedia from across Switzerland on the topic of addiction. The selection is translated into the four Swiss national languages as well as English.

Digital booking system

Canton Uri, where the Gotthard Road Tunnel begins, is trying to control the kilometre-long queues in the south with a kind of “slot system”, which was given the green light by the cantonal parliament last year. The idea is for drivers to reserve their passage through the tunnel at a specific time via a digital platform. Anyone arriving at the Gotthard without a reservation will have to park and wait their turn.

However, this proposal does not convince everybody in Ticino or in canton Graubünden in the east.

Tips for your Easter trip to Ticino by public transport

If a train is overcrowded, it will not enter the Gotthard Base Tunnel. If nobody gets off, the train waits at the station. In an interview with Swiss public radio, SRF, the Swiss Federal Railways spokeswoman explains why this measure is necessary and how it is decided who must get off the train.

The Federal Railways recommends that if you want to spend your Easter holidays in Ticino, it is wise to reserve seats on the train early or to consider alternatives to the Gotthard Base Tunnel, such as the panoramic route, which takes about an hour longer.

Gotthard toll

The passage through the tunnel could also be regulated with a toll, which would be more expensive at peak times. This has been proposed several times and gained attention again last year.

Here, too, resistance is found in the southern and eastern cantons. In Ticino, some fear that the toll would put the canton at an economic and social disadvantage. In Graubünden, there are concerns that the toll could lead to an increase in traffic on the San Bernardino axis. There is also the question of whether the toll is compatible with the bilateral agreements with the European Union.

Motorway expansion

The A1 motorway is to be widened to six lanes at critical points, parliament has decided. This is also in line with the long-term strategy of the Federal Council. However, opposition to these expansion plans has formed.

In January, the “stop motorway construction mania” alliance submitted a referendum against the expansion of the Swiss motorways to the Federal Council. A national vote is expected in summer or autumn 2024. The alliance comprises 29 organisations, associations and parties.

French-speaking Swiss public radio, RTS, met supporters and opponents of the motorway expansion and listened to their arguments:

Traffic congestion simulation outside villages

A different approach was chosen in Graubünden. Because many motorists were diverted by navigation devices through villages when there was a traffic jam on the A13 motorway, this led to more traffic there – and to more discontent.

To avoid this, the civil engineering department decided to stop traffic for two minutes outside the villages and then let 40 cars pass each time. As a result, navigation devices don’t offer the route through the villages as an alternative, as a – supposed – traffic jam is indicated there.

At the same time, the speed limit on the A13 motorway is reduced in both directions. The aim is to harmonise traffic and make better use of the capacity of the A13, said Swiss public television, RTR. According to those responsible, the new system has proved its worth.

What we can learn from the 1960s

Obviously, there were far fewer cars on Swiss roads in the 1960s. But even then, traffic jammed up, for example in front of railway barriers. “The railway barriers come in very handy if drivers’ nerves are a little frayed from the journey. They provide an opportunity to relax. Downtime for humans and their machines,” as you can see in our video.

Adapted from German by Claire Micallef