From new boarding methods at the airport to the tax on buzzwords
Published: Monday, Apr 1st 2024, 11:30
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In Switzerland, the media and institutions pranked their readers on April 1, sometimes with untrue reports. Here are some topics that could be true, but are probably April Fool's jokes.
SELF-BOARDING: Geneva Airport has announced a new service for passengers to board their aircraft independently. With an electric go-kart, they can now reach their aircraft independently via a signalized route without having to wait long at the security checkpoint, as the airport announced in a video on X. Passengers can also take a look behind the scenes, for example at baggage handling at the airport. The service can be used by anyone who has a ticket and wears a helmet and seat belt. Pedestrians and airplanes have priority on the tarmac.
ROBOT CARS: Car subscription provider Carvolution has announced Switzerland's largest pilot phase for autonomous driving on public roads with the Federal Roads Office (Astra). According to a statement from the company, thousands of vehicles with state-of-the-art automation systems will be in use on Swiss roads by the end of 2024 in order to gain important insights into the safety and efficiency of autonomous driving. Three aspects will be investigated: Safety, communication between the vehicles and with the infrastructure to improve traffic flow, and public acceptance. An initial test report should be available in November 2024.
POLICE LESS: The Winterthur municipal police have announced that they are replacing their 20-year-old small cars with climate-friendly light motorcycles as part of a pilot project. With these vehicles, which look like children's bicycles, the officers want to be even more citizen-oriented in Winterthur's neighborhoods. They don't have to worry about speeding: The two-wheelers, which run on electricity, have a maximum speed of 20 km/h. The two-wheelers can be folded up and pulled like a suitcase in a matter of seconds. This also allows police officers to carry out spontaneous foot patrols in their neighborhoods.
SOLAR ROOF: "Südostschweiz" sent its online readers into April with an idea for a solar project. In the canton of Graubünden, several large-scale alpine solar projects have met with resistance, most recently the one in the Splügen-Tambo ski area. Now larger buildings are to be targeted. For example, the city of Chur is initially planning to cover the roof of the historic Haldenstein Castle with solar panels. The roof area of the listed building is large enough and the old tiles have been a visual nuisance to the mayor of Chur for some time.
MEMORIAL: As part of the new station design in Bern, the larger-than-life statue of Bernese mayor and general Adrian von Bubenberg (1424-1479) is to be moved to Spiez Castle - the former main residence of the von Bubenbergs. The municipality of Spiez has made a corresponding offer to the city of Bern, reported the Berner Zeitung and Bund online. "The stately monument would fit very well in the inner courtyard of our castle," Spiez mayor Jolanda Brunner was quoted as saying. In return for the large statue, Bern is to receive the much smaller monument to Bubenberg on the castle terrace.
BUZZWORDS: The Party for Rational Politics, Universal Human Rights and Participation Parat has launched the idea of introducing an incentive tax on the use of buzzwords. The levy is intended to create incentives to minimize the "inflationary use" of buzzwords such as "digitalization", "sustainability", "resilience" and "inclusion", according to the party. The measure aims to improve the quality of political debates and at the same time promote the sustainable use of language. The levy is to be collected using AI technologies and will benefit parties that advocate a "buzzword-free" discourse.
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