Alliance SwissPass launches new way to buy public transport tickets

Alliance SwissPass has launched a new anonymous, prepaid card that allows travellers without a mobile phone to buy public transport tickets in Switzerland.

Alliance SwissPass launches anonymous, prepaid card

Alliance SwissPass, the organisation responsible for public transport tickets in Switzerland, has introduced a new way to buy tickets across the country.

According to the Alliance SwissPass press release, passengers can now purchase a prepaid, anonymous card that can be topped up and used to buy train and bus tickets.

The new Alliance SwissPass prepaid card can be bought online or at service centres of most transport companies in Switzerland. The card requires at least 10 Swiss francs to be added initially. Users can then use this card to buy tickets at machines, including cashless ones, “quickly and contactlessly”.

Alliance SwissPass prepaid card for travellers without a phone

The transport company predicts that by 2035, 90 percent of customers will buy tickets online. Even now, most travellers (76 percent) buy tickets online with a credit or debit card.

To address this, the new prepaid card aims to ensure “that travellers without a mobile phone or credit card can easily use public transport in the future”, according to the announcement.

There is already an option to purchase a public transport ticket without a mobile phone or credit card using the SwissPass card. However, this preexisting card is personalised, meaning that it requires information such as a name and address, and users are billed monthly. 

The new prepaid card is instead anonymous and rechargeable, offering another payment option for people using public transport in Switzerland.