Everything you need to know about Switzerland’s new travel cards

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many people working in Switzerland have been – at least in part – working from home and no longer commuting to work daily. This means that the SBB’s GA and modular travelcards are no longer financially worthwhile for many workers, resulting in fewer subscriptions being sold.

According to 20min, 499,530 GA travelcards were in circulation during 2019, while only 431,000 subscriptions were counted in 2022.

Switzerland’s price watchdogs (who are tasked with monitoring prices to protect consumers and the economy from abusive prices) have been calling for new subscription models – and their calls have been answered.

With SBB’s amended timetable, which will come into effect in mid-December 2023, the first new subscription models will also be introduced alongside the key changes to the updated timetable as mentioned in TheLocal’s article.

So which subscriptions will be introduced?

öV-Guthaben

The öV-Guthaben (otherwise know as crédit transports publics, Credito TP) will be rolled out Swiss-wide from December 2023 following a successful trial run in the Zug region.

The so-called public transport credit model is based on the idea that the customer purchases a certain credit amount in advance at a discounted rate and can then use it to purchase day tickets and day travelcards for a year.

With this model, customers pay – for example – 2,100 francs and receive a (free) bonus of 900 Swiss francs. Customers can spend a total of 3,000 Swiss francs on tickets.

If the customer uses public transport much less frequently than anticipated, then they can get their money back (with the exception of the bonus).

Alliance SwissPass’s new credit model will be introduced in three forms:

• 3,000 Swiss francs credit for the price of 2100 francs
• 2,000 Swiss francs credit for the price of 1500 francs
• 1,000 Swiss francs credit for the price of 800 francs

FlexiAbo

The FlexiAbo is an annual subscription model where customers only pay for a certain number of travel days (as chosen by them).

Customers can redeem these 100 (paid) days on their SwissPass account within one year. The days can be redeemed on any of the 365 days.

Four French-speaking Swiss transport associations – Fribourg (Frimobil), Jura (Vagabond), Neuchâtel (Onde Verte), and Vaud (Mobilis) - have already tested the model and will officially introduce it as part of the new timetable in mid-December 2023.

Additionally, the FlexiAbo will also be available in Central Switzerland, namely in Lucerne, Obwalden, and Nidwalden (Passepartout).

The FlexiAbo is currently being tested in Engadin and Zurich.

Price-Capping

The price capping model stipulates that customers' daily, weekly, monthly, or annual travel costs are capped at a certain amount. Once the price cap – which depends on the travel zone and is always higher than the corresponding subscription price - has been reached, all further journeys are free.

If the total of individual tickets reaches a certain limit within a month, for example, 100 francs, then any amount the customer paid over that limit will be credited to them.

The A-Welle – the tariff network covering regions in the cantons of Aargau and Solothurn – has already tested the Price-Capping model and will continue to use it.

While A-Welle expects less yield, project manager Monika Moritz told SRF: “But we saw that we generated more revenue.”

The Lake Geneva region and Uri valleys are currently testing the price-capping model, but will not be rolled out as part of the December 2023 plan.

In Uri, tickets never cost more than 7.50 Swiss francs – or 5 Swiss francs with the Half Fare Card – per day whether you travel by bus or train.

In Geneva, the price-capping model is being trialled on the N1 (Lausanne-Evian), N2 (Lausanne-Thonon) and N3 (Nyon-Yvoire) lines.

Depending on the line, there is a maximum monthly amount you will need to reach by purchasing individual tickets to travel for free going forward.

However, according to Markus Flückiger, head of the Central Switzerland’s traffic network Passepartout, the new subscription models are not meant as a replacement for the GA Travelcard and existing zone subscriptions. He told SRF that “It is not competition. It is complementary.”