The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Half of Swiss population commutes half an hour to work

man crossing busy street
Not quite 10% walk to work in Switzerland; more than half drive. Keystone

Nine out of ten employees in Switzerland – or four million people in total – commuted to work last year, most of them to another municipality, and most by car.

In 2017, the average one-way Swiss commute was 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) and took 30.6 minutes, reported the Federal Statistical OfficeExternal link on Tuesday. Some 71% of commuters travelled to another city or town, up from 59% in 1990. The cantons of Basel City and Zug attract the most commuters from other cantons.

More than half (52%) of commuters drove to work; 31% used public transport; 9% walked; 7% biked (including e-bikes); and 2% rode scooters or motorcycles.

+ Swiss take an average of 72 train trips per year

With 800,000 pursuing studies or training, students and apprentices aged 15 and up accounted for another category of commuter. On average, they spent 40 minutes travelling 21km each way in 2017.

Among students and trainees, 16% travelled by passenger car or school bus; 41% took the train and 26% took the tram or bus. About 8% walked, while 7% biked and another 2% rode motorised two-wheelers.

More

Popular Stories

News

5 megatonnes of emissions from 2050 despite net zero

More

Emissions reduction

Switzerland could produce up to 5Mt of emissions annually by 2050

This content was published on Two to five megatonnes of CO2 equivalents per year: this is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that Switzerland is still expected to produce annually in 2050, a new study shows.

Read more: Switzerland could produce up to 5Mt of emissions annually by 2050
Customs duties threaten 100,000 jobs in Switzerland

More

Global trade

US tariffs putting 100,000 jobs at risk in Switzerland

This content was published on US tariffs of 39% on Swiss imports will directly affect 100,000 jobs, mainly in the watchmaking, machinery, metals, and food industries, economiesuisse warns.

Read more: US tariffs putting 100,000 jobs at risk in Switzerland
Switzerland releases four million for Sudan

More

Foreign Affairs

Switzerland releases CHF4 million for Sudan

This content was published on Switzerland has released CHF4 million (nearly $5 million) to help Sudan, which has been severely affected by famine and cholera.

Read more: Switzerland releases CHF4 million for Sudan

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