Alliance SwissPass, the main provider of public transport tickets in Switzerland, has announced a bevvy of new deals designed to appeal to young people. From a new “Nighttime GeneralAbonnement (GA)” to a cheap day pass for groups of friends, here’s what you need to know.
In the future, young people across the country will be able to buy a number of new cheaper tickets for Swiss public transport, Alliance SwissPass told Watson. From June 1, the organisation will be launching three new deals for people under the age of 25.
These passes, according to a press release by the company, are meant to support the needs of young people and encourage them to switch from driving to “climate-friendly mobility.” It is hoped that by offering cheaper deals to young people, the "public transport industry is sending a clear signal to young people and making public transport affordable for them,” the organisation wrote.
All three of the new tickets are designed for groups of young people who like to get out on the town at night or go on day trips to Swiss cities and historical sites. Here’s what you need to know about the new passes.
In what the company described as an “ideal birthday or Christmas present”, travellers younger than 25 years old will be able to purchase a “GA Night” ticket. A more restricted version of the more expensive GA ticket, the pass allows for free travel across the entire public transport network, including Intercity and Interregional services, between 7pm and when the network closes at night - either the last train on weekdays or 7am when the weekend night train network is operating.
The new ticket is the latest generation of the now defunct “seven25” subscription, with the organisation hoping that the pass will be used by “night owls, occasional users and day trippers” while offering “maximum flexibility at an optimum price”. Travellers will be able to use the card for just 99 Swiss francs a year - the equivalent of around eight 24-hour passes between Zurich and Winterthur or just one return trip from Zurich to Geneva without a Halbtax abo.
The second offer, called the “Friends Day Pass”, will allow four young people to travel together on any train in Switzerland for just 20 francs per person per day. This ticket can be purchased for this price with or without a Halbtax.
Alliance SwissPass said that the ticket will make day trips affordable for young groups of friends. "You can discover the mountains or Ticino inexpensively and in a relaxed manner, even without a car," noted spokesperson Sarah Trummer.
Finally, the “Tandem day ticket” will give holders of a GA youth card the ability to take any person under the age of 25 with them on any journey on the network for just 20 Swiss francs. It is hoped that it will give people who have never used the transportation system the opportunity to try it out for a discounted price.
All the new tickets can be purchased from June 1, 2023, either online or at ticket booths or machines - although travellers will be able to purchase the GA Night ticket in advance from May 1, with the first day of validity set for June 1. The offers will be open to anyone whose 25th birthday is after June 1, 2023.
For more information, check out the Alliance SwissPass website.