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SBB pilots new annual pass – costing 12,200 francs

The Local
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SBB pilots new annual pass – costing 12,200 francs
The 'door-to-door' pass includes use of an electric car. Photo: SBB

Swiss federal railways (SBB) is looking for people willing to spend 12,200 francs ($12,280) on a new annual transport pass that includes use of an electric car.

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Customers signing up for the ‘Green Class SBB’ will get a first class annual GA train pass, annual subscriptions to the PubliBike cycle scheme and Mobility carsharing and use of an eco-friendly BMW electric car for a year.

The car comes with insurance, a charging port for your home and an annual parking pass for carparks at Swiss rail stations.

The company is looking for 100 people to take part in the pilot scheme, which will launch on January 1st 2017.

Participants’ movements will be monitored by federal technology institute ETH Zurich by way of a smartphone app, allowing it to analyze how and when Green Class holders use the various forms of transport included in the pass.

Launched in collaboration with BMW, the new scheme aims to provide a ‘door-to-door’ transport solution for customers, Frédéric Revaz, spokesman for SBB, told The Local.

“The pilot will test the tastes and needs of our customers, to see if a ‘door-to-door’ offer can work,” he said.

The fact the pass also offers an ecological way of travelling is “very important” to SBB, added Revaz.

“It’s one of the strong points of rail travel, to be able to travel without polluting. But we must continue, we must try to attract customers who are environmentally-aware”.

All this comes with a hefty price tag, but SBB is confident it will find 100 people willing to pay it.

“We are pretty certain we will find enough people for the pilot project. Can it work in the wider market? That remains to be seen,” he told The Local.

“Thanks to the pilot we will have all the information necessary to perhaps rethink the offer and propose more things or fewer things, perhaps at a more attractive price”.

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