Ticket validators are likely to be phased out by the end of 2025

Transport companies will no longer have to provide ticket validation machines by the end of 2025. According to trade association Alliance Swisspass, the reason for this is the increasing purchase of tickets via digital channels.

Alliance Swisspass confirmed corresponding information from the consumer magazine K-Tipp to the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday. Alliance Swisspass wrote that some associations in Western Switzerland have already run out of cancellation cards. Many of the validation machines have also reached the end of their lifespan and need to be replaced, which leads to very high investments.

Valuation cards are still popular with public transport customers, K-Tipp wrote on Wednesday. More than 6.3 million stamp cards were reportedly sold last year. For Alliance Swisspass this is still small compared to the total number of tickets.

The possible abolition of the cards would cause problems for many parents, the consumer magazine noted. Children of primary school age would not be able to buy a digital ticket if they did not have a smartphone. Poor people who cannot afford a smartphone or cannot get a credit card from the bank are also affected, according to the aid organization Caritas.

The public transport sector has been exploring follow-up solutions for a long time, says Alliance Swisspass. The needs of different stakeholders would also be taken into account, such as children traveling alone or people without smartphones.

According to the trade association, anonymous travel should remain possible in the future. Public transport in Switzerland complies with applicable data protection regulations. (sda/lyn)