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A closer look at the public transport fare round

Even 3.6 per cent remains a hefty public transport price increase

The Price Supervisor wrung a lower fare increase out of the public transport industry, and that deserves recognition. Prices nevertheless rise far faster than inflation. From December, the GA 2nd class costs more than 4,000 francs for the first time. The real cause, however, lies not with the industry but in the Federal Palace.
Verkehr ’45: Wo der Bundesrat ausbauen will. Verkehr ’45 : où le Conseil fédéral souhaite développer les infrastructures. Verkehr ’45 : où le Conseil fédéral souhaite développer les infrastructures.
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THE KEY POINTS IN BRIEF
• Public transport fares rise by 3.6%, while annual inflation stood at 0.4% in July 2026
• Two increases within three years add up to around seven per cent
• The causes lie in political decisions on the mineral oil tax and on regional passenger transport

Even 3.6 per cent remains a hefty pub­lic trans­port price increase. The Price Super­vi­sor did wring con­ces­sions from the indus­try. In the end, how­ev­er, cus­tomers pay con­sid­er­ably more from Decem­ber 2026. The GA 2nd class exceeds the 4,000-franc mark for the first time. Any­one who com­mutes dai­ly feels this in their wal­let imme­di­ate­ly.

Public transport prices rise nine times faster than inflation

Annu­al infla­tion stood at 0.4 per cent in July 2026. Core infla­tion was only 0.3 per cent. Pub­lic trans­port oper­a­tors are now demand­ing 3.6 per cent more. Fares there­fore rise around nine times faster than the gen­er­al price lev­el. The indus­try must explain this gap, because wages and pen­sions usu­al­ly grow more slow­ly. Put dif­fer­ent­ly, cus­tomers foot an even big­ger bill. And not for the first time.

Two increases in three years add up

Pub­lic trans­port prices already rose by 3.7 per cent on aver­age in Decem­ber 2023. Now the sec­ond step of 3.6 per cent fol­lows. Cumu­la­tive­ly that amounts to around sev­en per cent with­in three years. Before that, nation­al fares remained sta­ble for sev­en years. This sta­bil­i­ty was a strong argu­ment for pub­lic trans­port, yet it is now his­to­ry.

Price Supervisor reaches the limits of the Price Supervision Act

Ste­fan Meier­hans got out what Arti­cle 6 of the Price Super­vi­sion Act allows him. He nego­ti­at­ed on a noti­fied mea­sure, not on the financ­ing of pub­lic trans­port. With­out an agree­ment with Alliance Swiss­Pass, only a rul­ing under Arti­cle 10 would remain. Such pro­ceed­ings take a long time and would very like­ly reach the Fed­er­al Admin­is­tra­tive Court. The agree­ment was there­fore prag­mat­ic, yet it does not solve the under­ly­ing prob­lem.

Saver tickets relieve the wrong customer groups

SBB promis­es saver tick­et dis­counts of 90 mil­lion francs for 2027. In 2024 and 2025 the fig­ure was 50 mil­lion francs each year. That sounds gen­er­ous, but it main­ly con­cerns trav­ellers with flex­i­ble sched­ules. Com­muters with a GA hard­ly ben­e­fit, because they do not buy sin­gle tick­ets. The com­pen­sa­tion there­fore miss­es the group that car­ries the heav­i­est bur­den.

Higher fares slow the growth of the public transport share

The fed­er­al gov­ern­ment funds pub­lic trans­port with bil­lions and wants to raise its share of traf­fic. High­er fares work against this goal, because they shift the cal­cu­la­tion in favour of pri­vate trans­port. The con­sumer pro­tec­tion foun­da­tion and IGöV crit­i­cise exact­ly this con­tra­dic­tion. They have there­fore launched a peti­tion addressed to Fed­er­al Coun­cil­lor Albert Rösti. Their demand is jus­ti­fied, because pric­ing pol­i­cy is always trans­port pol­i­cy too.

Politics must close the funding gap in public transport

The indus­try names two polit­i­cal caus­es for the increase. First­ly, the relief pack­age scraps the min­er­al oil tax refund from 2027. Sec­ond­ly, the cred­it frame­work for region­al pas­sen­ger trans­port falls short of the reg­is­tered need. Par­lia­ment took both deci­sions, not Alliance Swiss­Pass. Any­one who wants low­er fares must there­fore start in the Fed­er­al Palace. The Price Super­vi­sor can only brake, but not steer.

How much do pub­lic trans­port prices rise com­pared with infla­tion?

Fares rise by 3.6 per cent, while annu­al infla­tion stood at 0.4 per cent in July 2026.

It cites high­er oper­at­ing costs as well as the loss of the min­er­al oil tax refund and a cred­it frame­work below the reg­is­tered need.

He can issue a rul­ing under Arti­cle 10 of the Price Super­vi­sion Act, but first seeks an ami­ca­ble set­tle­ment.

this page has been automatically translated.

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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