Tag Archives: Automotive

This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided the planned electronic motorway vignette will be optional. Drivers will be able to choose. ©-Denis-Linine-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge Anyone wanting to drive on Switzerland’s motorway network must first buy a vignette, a road tax sticker introduced in 1985, which must be displayed on the windscreen. It currently costs CHF 40. The government’s announcement that...

This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided the planned electronic motorway vignette will be optional. Drivers will be able to choose. © Denis Linine | Dreamstime.com Anyone wanting to drive on Switzerland’s motorway network must first buy a vignette, a road tax sticker introduced in 1985, which must be displayed on the windscreen. It currently costs CHF 40. The government’s announcement that the new electronic vignette will be optional is a response to concerns relating to data privacy....

Ticket machines once replaced many of the people selling ticket from counters. Now the internet and mobile phones threatens ticket machines. © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.com As more and more people use dash past ticket machines with an electronic train ticket in their pocket, Swiss Rail is looking at phasing out some machines according to various newspapers including 20 Minutes. The 150 machines selling fewer than 20 tickets a day have been singled out, reported Keystone-ATS. These...

Recently, members of the young socialists raised the debate of the social inequalities associated with two ticket classes again while on trains travelling between Fribourg and Bern. © Justforever | Dreamstime.com They complain that at periods of peak demand second class carriages are overflowing, while first class ones often have space and spare seats. Yvan Rime, co-president of the young socialists in Fribourg told RTS that space on trains should not be a privilege only for the rich. In...

PostBus, the nation’s postal bus service, receives government aid based on its financial performance. © Artzzz _ Dreamstime.com With around 2,200 bright yellow buses operating on around 900 routes, it forms an important part of Switzerland’s transport network and employs around 4,000 people. However, not long after the private PostBus company was created in 2006, it started manipulating its accounts. An independent investigation calculated that unjustified state subsidies paid to it from 2007...

The cliché of Swiss trains always being on time is challenged by data published on the website opentransportdata.swiss. © Arne9001 | Dreamstime.com Analysis of this data by 20 Minuten, shows the most frequently delayed trains arrive from Italy. Mendrisio, near the Italian border in the canton of Ticino, was the worst performing station with 30% of trains delayed by 3 minutes or more. Italian delays also affect Swiss trains from Domodossola and Brig. The next stations on the train tardiness...

Tickets cannot be bought on public transport in Switzerland. Passengers are required to have a ticket before boarding. Those caught on public transport without one will soon have their names put into a national register. This will ensure progressively higher fines are issued to repeat offenders. ©_SBB_CFF_FFS - Click to enlarge The new database will be rolled out from April 2019, reported RTS. By the end of 2019, the...

Tickets cannot be bought on public transport in Switzerland. Passengers are required to have a ticket before boarding. Those caught on public transport without one will soon have their names put into a national register. This will ensure progressively higher fines are issued to repeat offenders. ©_SBB_CFF_FFS The new database will be rolled out from April 2019, reported RTS. By the end of 2019, the 250 odd members of CH-Direct, a public transport union, should be connected. The system of...

Tickets cannot be bought on public transport in Switzerland. Passengers are required to have a ticket before commencing their journey. Those caught on public transport without one will soon have their names put into a national register. This will ensure progressively higher fines are issued to repeat offenders. ©_SBB_CFF_FFS The new database will be rolled out from April 2019, reported RTS. By the end of 2019, the 250 odd members of CH-Direct, a public transport union, should be connected....

20 Minutes. After noticing a roadside police check, a resident of the canton of St Gallen sent a message to a WhatsApp group warning of the check. Not long after he received a nasty surprise. © Marcelmooij | Dreamstime Speaking to the newspaper 20 Minuten, the man said: “Me and several others received a penalty notice this week. I received a fine of 850 francs because I warned of a police check via WhatsApp. What I wrote in the group is private and has nothing to do with anyone else. Why are...