New “Municipal savings day pass” has proven its worth
Published: Friday, Jul 26th 2024, 10:20
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The "Municipal Saver Day Pass" offer for the use of public transport throughout Switzerland, which has been in place since December, has got off to a good start. This is the initial assessment of the three partners of the offer. So far, 1070 municipalities and towns have sold this day pass. Travelers and day trippers are taking advantage of it.
There was great excitement when the public transport industry organization Alliance SwissPass announced the end of the traditional municipal day pass after almost two decades in October 2020. More than 1.5 million day passes were sold each year.
The municipalities and towns offered their residents an impersonal ticket for 40 to 50 francs, which was equivalent to a general pass for one day. The few tickets were often sold out quickly at the municipal offices. And they were often left sitting on tickets. At the end of the year, not every municipality got its money's worth.
Successor product launched
Since December 11, many things are different - and yet almost everything is the same: there is a large contingent of the "Municipal Savings Day Pass" per day throughout Switzerland. The Alliance SwissPass, the Swiss Association of Municipalities and the Swiss Association of Cities have agreed on this offer.
There are two price levels for 1st and 2nd class - and a difference whether you have a Half-Fare travelcard or not. Points of sale are usually the ticket offices of the city and municipal administrations.
Same number of sales outlets as before
Around 1070 municipalities and cities currently offer the "Municipalities Savings Day Card". This was announced by the three partners at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. In a short period of time, that is about as many as previously sold the communal day pass.
This has exceeded expectations. Sales figures have risen continuously. Shortly after the launch, similar figures to the previous offer were achieved, it was reported.
According to Alliance SwissPass, the "Community Saver Day Pass" with a contingent of 3,000 to 4,000 units was already sold out on a few days. There are seasons and days of the week that are more popular with travelers.
Travelers would have a good chance of acquiring an economy day pass for 39 francs (Half-Fare travelcard). The next price level is 59 francs, while a normal day pass costs 78 francs (Half-Fare travelcard). This means that you still save 19 francs.
Advantages for small municipalities
The municipalities and towns themselves decide whether they want to provide this service to the population or not, emphasize both the association of municipalities and the association of towns. They have the opportunity to respond to the needs of the less digitally savvy population by selling at the counter and to present a citizen-oriented approach.
According to Alliance SwissPass, smaller municipalities in particular appreciate having access to a large contingent of day passes. This would give them the same options as larger municipalities. In addition, they could now also make the offer available to non-residents.
The municipalities and cities will only be charged for the day tickets actually purchased. The financial risk is eliminated, it was said.
Municipalities and cities would also no longer have to create their own availability display and keep it up to date. Alliance SwissPass does this for the municipalities and cities.
©Keystone/SDA
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