Half-fare travel card here to stay, says Swisspass chief
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Half-fare travel card here to stay, says Swisspass chief
Helmut Eichhorn, CEO of Alliance SwissPass, told the SonntagsBlick newspaper that the half-fare travel card for public transport will be maintained, following headlines in the press that it would be discontinued.
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The price reduction on travel on trains, buses, trams and boats with the current half-fare card is a maximum of 50%, but with proposed changes, the discount will be at least 50%, Eichhorn said. The aim is to introduce an easy-to-understand bonus system, which makes it possible to know at any time how many kilometres a person has travelled and what the resulting discount is, he added.
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“What’s more, a price is displayed before and after each journey. It’s all very transparent. There will be no hidden price increases,” said the director of Alliance SwissPass.
Only three products to be offered
In his view, there should be just three products in the future: a basic model for which a passenger pays the full fare, a flat-rate offer like the general season ticket, and a smart season ticket. “This smart season ticket corresponds to the current half-fare travel card and will also be supplemented by a bonus system,” Eichhorn said.
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With this simplified system, he added, “we hope to trigger greater use of trains, trams and buses in order to generate additional revenue.”
The new system is still only a project, however, Eichhorn said. No final decision on its introduction has yet been taken.
Translated from French with DeepL/gw
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