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From 2024, the “Hoher Kasten revolving restaurant and cable car AG” in Brülisau AI will standardize the price model. With the cancellation of the “Alliance Swisspass”, no discounts are available for half fare or GA travel card holders anymore. For them, this means a hefty price premium, while for traditional day trippers, prices drop a bit.
The Blick community is greatly annoyed by this new pricing policy. For most users, this means a price increase. Also, two-thirds of Blick readers, in a vote of nearly 30,000 people, agree that the GA travel card and Half Fare travel card should be used everywhere.
However, the latter is not the case. Each shipping company is free to decide whether or not to join the Alliance Swisspass (ASP) shipping association.
Hoher Kasten expects a maximum loss of 15 percent
Martin Ebneter, 46, CEO of Hoher Kasten, agrees with the criticism: “We’ve thought carefully about this step. At worst, we expect a 15 percent guest drop.” The current problem is multi-faceted. half the mobile population in Switzerland, ie around 3 million people, already have a GA or half fare card.
Such a guest pays 50 percent of the regular price, about 20 percent comes from the Half Charge travel card. The remaining 30 percent must be covered by full paying adults. In the Hoher Kasten case, there are a particularly large number of guests from abroad – about 20 percent of guests come from southern Germany, according to Ebneter.
Also, commission money flows to SBB when booking through the SBB app. In case of a problem, this is not the cable car, but also the point of contact. Ebneter predicts that “in 5 to 10 years all ropeways will be in big trouble”.
Currently, no one dares to openly oppose public transport. “We’re not doing that either, but now we’re going a different route,” says Ebneter. You are confident enough to take this step.
The study is interpreted differently
A few months ago, the Northwest Switzerland University of Applied Sciences analyzed the implications of a possible exit from ASP. Six Swiss cable cars participate: Hoher Kasten and Ebenalp in Appenzell Innerrhoden, St. Kronberg, Säntis and Pizol in the canton of St. Gallen and Pfingstegg in the canton of Bern. All companies except Pfingstegg are from Eastern Switzerland. Are these on the same level as Hohe Kasten?
Mario Koller (61), Managing Director of the Wasserauen-Ebenalp cable car in Alpstein, says: “We are a little uneasy that Swiss people are cheaper than guests from Germany or Austria thanks to the Half Fare travel pass or GA”. However, it was decided not to leave due to work. “We’re on the right track as a group,” says Koller. It is essential that railroads continue to receive their fair share of Half Fare travel card compensation. At this time, no drastic change in pricing policy is required.
For Jakob Gülünay (49) who has been Managing Director of Säntisbahnen since April 2023, leaving the ASP is absolutely fine: “We interpret the research in such a way that it is better to stay in the ASP.” According to him, efforts are being made to further expand services related to a nationwide transport association in Switzerland. “Exiting at this point would be damaging.”
Felix Merz (47), general manager of the Jakobsbad-Kronberg aerial cable car, also refuses: “We trust families and regular guests a lot, so you are very careful in such actions.” 69 percent of Kronberg guests have a GA or half rate card.
Everyone’s looking at Hoher Kasten
The statements of the respondents at least express caution. What do the railway companies that do not participate in the research say? “We can’t afford to leave ASP: 73 percent of our tickets are available at half price,” says Jürg Balsiger (60), director of the Stanserhornbahn. The center is well connected to public transport. But ropeways are also expensive to build, operate and maintain, so Balsiger is monitoring the situation.
Frédéric Füssenich, CEO of Rigibahnen AG, says: “We earn more from discount guests than from full-paying guests. But they also spend a lot of money on the ground and are important to the overall added value of the Rigi travel destination.” “60 percent of our guests arrive by public transport and can go directly to Rigi with a ticket from Zurich,” says Füssenich. The uncomplicated travel experience is almost as important as the price.
250 shipping companies nationwide are in ASP. So Hohe Kasten is making a risky bet. Or will it be an exemplary case: “Switzerland’s entire ropeway industry is looking forward to Hoher Kasten,” summarizes Merz.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
