A woman in Switzerland was horrified to discover that she would be fined 110 Swiss francs for taking her dog onboard a public bus after an unfortunate ticket fare mix-up. The confusion came due to differing rules regarding dogs between public transport tickets and public bus tickets.
Pets that are smaller than 30 centimetres can ride for free on Swiss public transport, whereas owners of larger animals are expected to pay half the price of a ticket, since they will most likely be unable to sit on their owners’ lap and therefore occupy a seat. The rules differ by what company you use and whether you use a bus or a train.
The customer from Canton Bern forgot to buy the correct ticket for her dog for the bus journey, which resulted in a huge 110-franc fine. Though the customer admitted that the mix-up was entirely her fault, she added that she was shocked that dogs face a full fine, the same as humans.
The industry organisation Alliance SwissPass has confirmed that the large fine is correct, and a representative from the SRF consumer magazine Espresso added that if the charges were to be any other way around, it would cause confusion between bike tickets, dog tickets and even child fares.
The magazine representative, Thomas Ammann, went on to explain that the rules are clear: “You pay the same surcharge for both dogs and bicycles if you forget to buy a ticket, as you would for yourself."