Lake Geneva Switzerland

Save with the Half-Fare Card on Swiss Public Transportation Networks

by in Transportation

The Swiss Railways Half-Fare Card gives 50% discounts on tickets for trains, buses, trams, boats, and cable cars in Switzerland.

Swiss Train in the Lavaux on Lake Geneva

The Swiss Half-Fare card is a fantastic savings deal for travelers in Switzerland using public transportation. Bearers can use almost all trains, buses, trams, boats, and cable cars for half the normal ticket fare. The half-fare card quickly pays for itself even if using trains and public transportation only sporadically. The Swiss Half-Fare Card is added to a Swiss Pass and valid for one year and renews automatically if not canceled. Non-residents may also buy a one-month international half-fare card online or at any Swiss train station for immediate use.

The Swiss Pass

The Swiss Pass is a new transportation and travel card system used in Switzerland. It allows bearers to add all manners of transportation including travel passes for trains, buses, ski passes, and other services onto a single card and manage the accounts online. A new Swiss Pass is CHF30 or free when a half-fare card is bought.

The Swiss Pass can be bought online from Swiss Railways but only if a passport or ID card was issued by Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria or Liechtenstein. It is also available to non-residents but the physical card is only sent by post to a mailing address. Non-residents may also buy the one-month international half-fare card online for mobile use or as a print at home ticket.

See the Switzerland transportation map (PDF File) for the area of validity of the Swiss Half-Fare Card. The Half-fare Card is referred to as the Halbtax Abo in German or Demi-Tarif in French – press the ½ button on vending machines to get the discounted tickets.

Save with Swiss Half-Fare Transportation Card

The main advantage of using a Swiss Half-Fare Card is saving 50% on virtually all forms of public transportation in Switzerland – this saving is also applied to many private railway lines, boats, and cable cars. When buying tickets, simply select the ½ fare button, or the child fare, which is usually half the regular ticket price. (For very short journeys or cheap tickets, the savings may be less than 50%.)

The 50% savings apply to any class of travel as the Half-Fare Card is not class-bound. Families with children age 6 to 16 can save by using the Junior Card, or Swiss Family Card for international travelers. Children under 6 travel for free.

Further Advantages of Traveling with the Swiss Half-Fare Transportation Card

Bearers of the Swiss Half-Fare Card also enjoy further benefits not available to all travelers. These advantages include:

  • Day Travel Passes – only bearers of the Half-Fare Card can buy day tickets (Tageskarte / Carte journalière), which is valid for unlimited travel on the Swiss transportation network. These day travel passes are CHF75 in second class and CHF127 for first-class travel. (The cheaper after 9 am card is no longer sold.)
  • Day Travel Passes for Children – this offer has been replaced by the cheaper Children’s Co-Travelcard that is available to all travelers.
  • Month Rail Pass – it is possible to once a year buy a one-month rail pass (Monatskarte / Carte mensuelle) that is valid for unlimited travel on the Swiss public transportation network. This month rail pass is CHF420 (CHF690 first class) – significantly cheaper than the standard Swiss Travel Pass available to non-residents only.
  • Cross border journeys – bearers of the Swiss Half-Fare Card qualify for discounts of 15% on German and Austrian rail tickets for cross border journeys provided that the tickets are bought inside Switzerland. (Better offers may be found across the borders though.)
  • Swiss Museum Pass – receive a CHF20 discount when buying the Swiss Museum Pass, which is valid in over 500 museums in Switzerland.

Buying the Swiss Half-Fare Card for Discounts on Swiss Transportation

The Swiss Half-Fare Card can be bought from any Swiss train station or online through Swiss Railways as part of the Swiss Pass travel card system. Identification and a photo are required. Anyone may buy the Swiss Half-Fare Card – a Swiss address is not required but the Swiss Pass with the half-fare saving will only be delivered through the mail. If required, a temporary card is issued that may be used immediately for travel savings.

The Swiss Half-Fare Card is CHF185 per year and automatically renews for the next year if not canceled at least a month before its expiry date. The previous savings for multiple year cards and the Halbtax with Visa cards are no longer offered.

Children may buy a Half-Fare Card for CHF99 in the year that they turn 16. Children 6 to 16 travel at half price at all times or for free on a Junior Card with parents (or the similar Children’s Co-Travelcard with other adults).

Non-Swiss residents may buy the standard one-year half-fare card for CHF185, or an international Swiss Half-Fare Card valid for a month for CHF120. This card may include for free the Swiss Family Card, which functions as a Junior Card but only if the child’s name is added at the time of purchase. The one-month Half-Fare travel card can be bought from any Swiss train station or online from Raileurope – it is issued immediately and no photo is required.

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