Ticket prices for trains and postal buses will increase by 5.9 per cent on average in December – the first major hike in public transport fares in three years.
The move was justified by the continually increased service, new rolling stock, higher personnel costs and technical updates, said the Public Transport Association, an umbrella organisation of the country’s 130 transport companies, including Swiss Federal Railways.
“Good quality has its price,” the association’s president Peter Vollmer told a news conference on Wednesday. He added that the introduction of higher prices for rush hour travel was not on the agenda in the near future.
However, the federal price watchdog called for increases for single tickets to be limited to 2.4 per cent instead of the planned 3.4 per cent.
The price supervisor criticised the hikes as discriminatory and illogical and asked the association to provide details of its pricing system by next April.
“Consumers are entitled to a transparent system and fair prices,” said supervisor Stefan Meierhans.
Switzerland boasts a public transport system of high density and punctuality, both in urban and mountain regions.
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