Direct traffic in Switzerland
The Direct Traffic Switzerland (abbreviated DV Switzerland) is the national tariff association of Confederation . It works like the regional tariff associations established in many countries and enables non-stop travel across multiple municipal and cantonal borders. Within the network boundaries - in DV Switzerland synonymous with the national border - it does not matter how many different means of transport are used on a trip. A single ticket is sufficient. With full season tickets and single tickets, customers of public transport in Switzerland can board all trains, buses, trams, many ships and even some mountain railways without hindrance.
Direct traffic ensures that there are uniform price rules, product ranges and common standards across all modes of transport and that several modes of transport and companies can be used with a single ticket. This ensures, for example, that travelers do not have to worry about whether their five-year-old child or the bicycle they have taken with them is treated differently when switching to another transport company. With the exception of a few tourist routes, DV Switzerland covers practically the entire Swiss public transport network. Every year, between five and six billion Swiss francs are turned over in DV. The most popular and best-known products are the general season allows (GA), traveling in nearly 250 transport companies, as well as the half-fare -Subscription, is granted with a discount of 50% on all single tickets within the direct traffic. There are currently around 480,000 GA travelcards and over 2.5 million Half-Fare travelcards in circulation.
Basics
Direct transport is the continuous transport of people between two or more licensed transport companies based on a single transport contract and a common tariff. Around 150 years ago, the then largest private railways in Switzerland began to standardize their passenger transport tariffs. Since then, direct traffic has ensured that most public transport in Switzerland can be used within its borders with a single ticket. Today 247 transport companies - almost all providers of public transport services in Switzerland - take part in DV Switzerland in some form. Since 1970 and the establishment of the first regional tariff association, there have also been Swiss tariff associations that accept tickets and subscriptions to direct transport.
Legal bases
The scope of action for direct traffic is defined in a four-tier legal structure. The top hierarchical level is the Federal Law on Passenger Transport (PBG), in particular Articles 16 and 17, which oblige transport companies to cooperate. Article 16 can be described as the foundation of the DP. This sets out the obligation of the transport company to offer customers a continuous transport contract when traveling with several transport companies. This means that travelers only need a single ticket for a trip. At the same time, the PBG authorizes the transport company to lay down rules of the game for the use of public transport in the form of tariffs, which all users must comply with.
«Art. 16 Direct traffic
1 In long-distance, regional and local traffic, the companies usually offer their customers a single transport contract for connections via the network of different companies. If there is a need, direct transport must be offered in long-distance and regional transport.
2 They create common tariffs and tickets for this. »
The Passenger Transport Ordinance explains individual articles of the law in more detail. The subject of cooperation and organizational formalities are set out in Convention 500 (Ue500), a kind of statute for direct traffic. The numerous common regulations that regulate important specific issues in DP show an even greater level of detail. For example, regulation 570 sets out in great detail what must be observed when designing the common tickets.
Premises
In addition to the legal basis, the development of direct traffic is based on three central premises:
- Simply: "One trip, one ticket" is one of the principles. There are over 240 different transport companies in Switzerland. Nevertheless, it is possible to travel on different means of transport such as train, bus, boat or cable car with a single ticket - and to purchase this ticket at almost any point of sale.
- Rewarding: Those who drive more and / or further are rewarded. A distance discount is granted on long trips, which also applies to trips with various transport companies. Volume discounts and price caps favor frequent travelers in public transport.
- Flexible: DV knows neither a reservation requirement nor a specific train connection. With a normal ticket, any train can be used for the purchased journey for a whole day. Flat-rate tickets even offer free travel on practically all lines of the transport companies participating in direct traffic for a certain period of time.
Structure and organization
Direct traffic is structured in a similar way to a cooperative. The "totality of those participating in the DV" appears as the democratic basis and at the same time the highest authority, i.e. all transport companies and associations that accept at least one component of the Direct Transport range. It corresponds to a general assembly. However, they never meet physically, the most important decisions of the DP are made in the context of an overall survey by letter.
The Strategic Committee for Direct Traffic (StAD) is the highest body. He controls business and projects of strategic importance for DP and corresponds roughly to the board of a cooperative. The four specialist commissions are the Passenger Transport Market Commission (KMP), the Passenger Transport Sales Commission (KVP), the Transport Customer Information Commission (KKV) and the IT Systems Commission (KIT). They decide on operational business in their specialist area and prepare strategic business for the StAD. It deals with:
- the KMP with the topics of marketing and sales promotion, pricing and range design as well as income distribution in direct traffic,
- the CIP with sales topics such as provisioning, clearing, income security or ticket control,
- the KKV with common standards and regulations in customer information, for example in terms of signage or presentation,
- the KIT with the central IT systems in the sales and distribution of public transport.
Convention 500
The "Agreement of the Alliance SwissPass", Ue500 for short, regulates the mutual relationships between those taking part in direct traffic in accordance with Articles 16 and 17 of the PBG and Art. 56 VPB. It forms a kind of statute of the DV.
The Ue500 regulates in particular:
- cooperation among those participating in the DV or individual direct tariffs,
- the rights and obligations of the participants,
- the organization (committees, representation of the participants in the committees),
- the financing of the costs arising from the fulfillment of the Ue500 and their distribution.
Furthermore, the Ue500 regulates the cooperation of the DV with the Swiss associations in public passenger transport.
administration
The national tariff organization ch-integral is responsible for the administration and coordination of direct traffic. The company, organized in the legal form of an association, was founded on July 1, 2016 as ch-direct and separated from the previous structures of the Association of Public Transport .
tasks
The central tasks of direct traffic are derived from the federal law on passenger transport. The following tasks result from the obligation for the transport company to only offer a single ticket for a trip with several transport companies:
- Rules of the relationship between transport company and customers, creation of appropriate usage rules (tariffs),
- Provision of a range of tickets for customers in line with the tariffs,
- Distribution of common administrative costs,
- Distribution of the jointly generated traffic revenue
Rates
In order to regulate the relationship between the transport company in direct traffic and the customers and to set guard rails, various tariffs were created. They are, so to speak, the terms of use for public transport customers and thus a kind of “general terms and conditions”. For example, they provide information on where and for how long a ticket is valid and under what conditions it can be used. There are a total of 25 tariffs that are managed by ch-direct. The most important are:
- Tariff 600: General personal tariff. The most important and most extensive tariff of the DV. It regulates general provisions that apply to practically all tickets. This includes, for example, the age limit for children, from which they have to buy half a ticket (6 years in the entire DV).
- Tariffs 603/604: distances and prices. These tariffs contain the basic parameters for price calculation. Typical of the T604 are the “tariff triangles”, the price tables for direct traffic.
- Tariff 654: General subscription, half-fare subscription, seven25 subscription and additional offers. This tariff regulates all conditions of use for the GA and Half-Fare travelcard that are not already regulated in tariff 600, for example the maximum duration that a GA travelcard can be stored in the absence of a person.
range
A wide range of different tickets is offered in direct traffic. A distinction is made between flat-rate tickets, which are valid for a certain period of time on all direct traffic routes, and individual tickets and route subscriptions, which are valid for a certain period of time on the selected route.
Flat-rate tickets
Flagships and probably the best-known offers of the DV are the general and half-fare card. The GA travelcard offers around 480,000 customers free travel on 247 transport companies. For another 56, half price is granted. A GA was issued for the first time in 1898, at that time 15 TU were involved. However, strong growth rates were not recorded until 1980. Between 1970 and 1989 the number of general season tickets in circulation rose from 8,000 to 38,000. In 1997 there were 224,000 GA travelcards in circulation, the 300,000 limit was exceeded in the summer of 2006, and the 400,000 mark was reached in early 2010. The GA has developed from a niche product to a commuter ticket.
The Half-Fare Card is a discount card that grants a 50 percent discount on normal tickets. With a distribution of over 2.5 million, the Half-Fare travelcard is by far the most popular subscription among the Swiss. In 1983 there were around 650,000 subscriptions in circulation. At the end of the 1980s, the Federal Council decided to subsidize the half-fare card, which at the time was expensive at CHF 360, reducing the price to CHF 100. In the course of this, the sales figures rose enormously - just five years later, over 2 million subscriptions were in circulation.
On average, every third person living in Switzerland has a flat-rate direct traffic pass. Measured by the size of the population, the Half-Fare Card is the world's best-selling public transport discount card.
Single tickets and route subscriptions
Single tickets and route subscriptions are issued for certain routes from A to B within Direct Traffic. The price between the starting point and the destination is calculated using tariff kilometers, which are specified in tariffs 603, 604 and 650. According to the motto “One journey, one ticket”, direct traffic endeavors to be able to issue a ticket for every possible route in Switzerland.
Mandates
Selected members carry out individual direct traffic tasks on behalf of all DP participants. There are currently three different mandates:
Five sub-areas are described within the so-called "SBB mandate" :
- Price and range
- marketing
- Sales and Services
- Billing
- IT and services
The mandate holder carries out these tasks within the framework of a functional specification. In 2017 the mandates were again awarded to the Swiss Federal Railways . You already held the mandate beforehand. The award was for an unlimited period and can be canceled for the first time on December 31, 2021.
The "PostBus mandate" (national fare dodger register) includes the operation and further development of the national fare dodger register and is currently in the hands of PostBus .
In the “Management of the office ” mandate, direct traffic business is conducted in accordance with the provisions of Convention 510. The mandate is in the hands of the ch-integral association .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Communication ch-direct: press release “Who is ch-direct”. ch-direct - the national tariff organization for public transport, June 12, 2018, accessed on October 30, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Direct traffic. In: ch-direct.org. Retrieved October 30, 2018 .
- ↑ https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/20061345/index.html
- ↑ Federal Law on Passenger Transport. Retrieved October 30, 2018 .
- ^ Agreement of the Alliance SwissPass (Ue500). (PDF) In: allianceswisspass.ch. January 1, 2020, accessed February 3, 2020 .
- ↑ Tariffs & Regulations. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
- ↑ Mandates of the Alliance SwissPass. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .