Advertisement

How Switzerland spends 90 billion francs on transport each year

Naomi Tsvirko
Naomi Tsvirko - [email protected]
How Switzerland spends 90 billion francs on transport each year
Swiss road expenses surpass those of rail networks Photo: Siempreverde/Depositphotos.com

Switzerland spends an estimated 90 billion francs a year on its transport network, but where does all the money go exactly?

Advertisement

Switzerland is world-famous for its efficient tram and railway networks, but it is the nation’s roads that cost most - around 80 percent of the country’s total transport expenses.

Annually, 72 billion francs are spent on road-related expenses including accidents, healthcare, and environmental damage, according to the Federal Statistical Office which released its 2015 survey of transport costs on Monday. 

By comparison, other modes of transportation are modest. The cost of rail transport in 2015 amounted to nearly 11 billion francs, air traffic costs 6.4 billion francs water transport costs 344 million francs.

72 billion francs are spent on road-related expenses in Switzerland Photo: Ambrozinio/Depositphotos.com

How much does the government pay compared with users?

In 2015, the Confederation, cantons, and municipalities spent 4.7 billion francs on rail networks, almost as much as users who paid 5 billion francs. 

In five years, however, the State has reduced its share of rail funding by 2 percent points, to 43%.

Read also: Seven Fun facts about Switzerland's famous train station clocks

In air transport, passengers paid 81% of the total costs of this mode of transport, with the purchase of airline tickets.  The remaining 1.1 billion francs, was the responsibility of taxpayers to pay for things like environmental maintenance of transportation (e.g. cleaning and maintenance services).

Rising costs

Since the Swiss Federal Statistical Office started collecting data on transport costs in 2010, there has been a substantial increase in overall costs. 

Between 2010 and 2015, aviation became 14 percent more expensive, railway expenses rose by 12 percent and motorised traffic expenses were up by 2 percent.

 


 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also