Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Federal Railways plans introduction of e-tickets

Passengers could soon be able to benefit from an electronic ticketing system on Swiss trains, buses, boats and mountain cable cars.

Swiss Federal Railways confirmed reports that preparations were underway to introduce the e-ticket within six years as additional option beside the traditional travel document.

First trials are scheduled for 2016 and costs for technical upgrades are estimated at about SFr200 million ($236 million).

A plastic card containing a chip would allow the billing of passengers once a month and the railway management could introduce client-tailored prices, Santiago Garcia of Federal Railways told several Sunday newspapers.

The association of public transport, comprising more than 300 companies, is scheduled to discuss e-ticketing for the popular travel cards at a meeting in November.

Observers say the introduction of the e-tickets could raise concern over data protection.

A similar project was abandoned nine years ago, notably over expected costs.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR