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Anonymous and without a smartphone

What the new FOT ticket rules mean for passengers

Travelling anonymously and buying a ticket without a smartphone remains possible on public transport. The FOT has clarified the requirements for sales channels and set clear deadlines. The overview explains how anonymity is defined, which purchase options remain and what travellers can do about problems.
Der Bahnhofplatz Olten soll als Aggloprogramm vom Projekt '45 profitieren. Olten Station Square is set to benefit from the “’45” project as part of the Agglomeration Program. La place de la gare d’Olten devrait bénéficier du projet « ’45 » dans le cadre du programme d’agglomération.
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THE KEY POINTS IN BRIEF
• Travelling anonymously means transport companies may not link the route to any individual
• Travellers without a smartphone receive fair alternatives by the end of July 2027, spontaneous anonymous travel follows by the end of 2028
• Anyone identifying shortcomings can file a supervisory complaint with the FOT

Trav­el­ling anony­mous­ly and buy­ing a tick­et with­out a smart­phone remains pos­si­ble on pub­lic trans­port. The FOT has clar­i­fied the require­ments for sales chan­nels. Trav­ellers gain new rights, but also face clear lim­its. The overview shows what applies from sum­mer 2027 and from the end of 2028.

Anonymous travel on public transport leaves no data trail of the route

An anony­mous tick­et pro­tects above all the route trav­elled. The com­pa­ny must not store when a per­son sat in which vehi­cle. Any­one want­i­ng to trav­el anony­mous­ly there­fore uses proven means. The machine works with­out an account, as does the mul­ti-jour­ney card at the val­ida­tor. The staffed counter also remains an anony­mous option.

The means of payment does not determine anonymity

Many trav­ellers con­sid­er cash essen­tial. The FOT clear­ly sep­a­rates pay­ment and data pro­tec­tion, how­ev­er. Any­one pay­ing by cred­it card still trav­els anony­mous­ly, pro­vid­ed nobody links the route. An IP address alone like­wise does not count as per­son­al data. Sea­son tick­ets such as the GA and Half Fare trav­el­card may remain per­son­alised. Yet hold­ers receive an anony­mous trav­el option, for exam­ple a card instead of an app.

Travellers without a smartphone keep their purchase options

Not all trav­ellers own a smart­phone or want to use one. For this group, the FOT demands reli­able alter­na­tives at the point of sale. Machines, coun­ters or tele­phone sales onto a car­ri­er medi­um meet this require­ment. The pur­chase must be pos­si­ble up to 30 min­utes before depar­ture. In addi­tion, the FOT pro­hibits dis­pro­por­tion­ate extra costs. A ser­vice sur­charge above the tick­et price would con­se­quent­ly be inad­mis­si­ble.

Cash remains possible at staffed counters

Tick­et machines and dri­vers do not have to accept notes and coins. Nev­er­the­less, a sys­tem must not rely sole­ly on per­son­al deb­it or cred­it cards. The FOT regards the pub­lic trans­port pre­paid card as a suf­fi­cient answer. At staffed coun­ters, trav­ellers still buy tick­ets with cash and top up the card.

These deadlines apply to the transport companies

The changeover runs in sev­er­al steps. By the end of July 2027, all com­pa­nies must offer fair solu­tions for non-dig­i­tals. By the end of 2028, spon­ta­neous anony­mous trav­el just before depar­ture fol­lows. Until then, func­tion­ing and reg­u­lar­ly used val­ida­tors stay in oper­a­tion. Tick­et machines at busy inter­changes like­wise keep run­ning.

Travellers can contact the FOT

Trav­ellers are not pow­er­less in the face of these require­ments. Any­one iden­ti­fy­ing short­com­ings can file a super­vi­so­ry com­plaint with the FOT. Such a com­plaint, how­ev­er, grants no par­ty rights in the pro­ceed­ings. If the indus­try fails to imple­ment the require­ments, the FOT will exam­ine a super­vi­so­ry rul­ing.

What exact­ly does anony­mous trav­el on pub­lic trans­port mean?

You trav­el anony­mous­ly when the trans­port com­pa­ny can­not link your route and trav­el time to you per­son­al­ly.

The eas­i­est ways are the tick­et machine, a mul­ti-jour­ney card at the val­ida­tor or the staffed counter.

No, because the means of pay­ment does not affect anonymi­ty, as long as nobody links the route to the pay­ment.

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Picture of Lea Gehrken

Lea Gehrken

Lea Gehrken is currently studying Business Communications (BSc) at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (HWZ) and, as managing director of the communications agency Crax AG, leads challenging projects at the interface of communication, strategy, and media relations. Her connection to mobility is multifaceted: as a public transport commuter between Bern and Zurich, as a recreational driver, through travel experiences with a motorhome, and as an enthusiastic racing cyclist. These personal experiences shape her perspective and flow into editorial work, communication concepts, and projects related to the mobility of the future. With a keen sense for trends and social developments, Lea Lisa Gehrken represents a new generation of communications professionals who think about mobility in a connected, sustainable, and human way. In doing so, she sometimes provides a conscious counterpoint to the “established” authors on the platform.
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