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The days when you could buy your ticket from the on-board Postbus driver – without the app – with a handful of coins will soon be over. According to the news of “Tages-Anzeiger”, Postbus no longer wants to accept cash on all routes until 2035.
Postauto boss Christian Plüss (61) justifies the move by saying cash is becoming less and less important. Operating cash registers is expensive and time consuming. He also talks about the safety of drivers. Since they always carry cash, they can be a target for thieves. Drivers state that they waste a lot of time collecting money and therefore cannot stick to the schedule.
SBB will wait and see for now
Postauto is not alone with its digitization push: According to “Tages-Anzeiger”, the Bernese railway company BLS also wants to sell only digital tickets from 2036 and plans not to operate ticket machines in the future. SBB is more reserved. First, they will observe how travelers’ payment behavior evolves through 2027. Then draw the necessary conclusions about what will happen next at the ticket machines.
It is not yet clear how cashless public transportation will be implemented technologically. However, according to the report, the Swiss Pass is likely to play a central role and you will probably also be able to purchase individual tickets in the future. The Zurich Transport Association (ZVV) is testing individual tickets on the Swiss Pass in the spring. If the test is positive, the offer will be valid throughout Switzerland.
Will tariffs increase then?
It is not yet clear how cash withdrawals will be received by customers. But there is already resistance from consumer protection. “The fewer opportunities to use cash, the more cash will disappear. This is a worrying fact,” says Sara Stalder, chief executive of the Consumer Protection Foundation.
Not every traveler wants to leave a digital trace. The consumer advocate also fears that digitalization will create “unclear tariff systems that are overpriced.” (pbe)
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.
