The Rhaetian Railway passes over the Landwasser Viaduct in eastern Switzerland
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Swiss train ticket prices are set to drop by 0.3% in June as a consequence of lower value-added tax (VAT). This bucks the general trend in Europe for price increases.
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Although VAT in Switzerland is decreasing from 8% to 7.7% on January 1, a short lead time will be necessary to pass this on to passengers, said the Public Transport Industry Association on Thursday.
The reason for the lower VAT is voters’ rejection in September of a wide-ranging overhaul of Switzerland’s old-age pension scheme. The planned increase in VAT to help finance the reform also failed to win the necessary majority.
Train prices in Switzerland are thus set to go in the opposite direction to most countries. In Germany, tickets rose by around 2% in December. Passengers in Britain will pay 3.4% more from January 2, the largest increase for five yearsExternal link.
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Price hike for public transport tickets
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Switzerland’s public transport service remains tops but consumers faced above average ticket prices over the past five years, a study has found.
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The research revealed the continuation of a trend underway for several years, with train passengers consistently asked to pay more for travel despite negative inflation. Motorists, on the other hand, have benefited from falling petrol and auto prices, which have contributed to a declining overall cost per kilometre driven in Switzerland. Since 1990, costs for…
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.