Basel Buses - Boarding and Transit Pass Etiquette

I think pretty much every local and tourist can use the buses/trams
for no charge in Switzerland.

This is not correct. You are required to have a ticket (or travel pass) before you board buses and trams. In some cities, you may be given a guest card which will work on some local public transportation.

Switzerland uses the honor system so you will not always be asked to present your ticket/pass. But if you are asked, and do not have one, you will be fined.

Carrie, all I can say is that was not my experience in my two trips to Switzerland. Each hotel said that local transportation was covered. I was not given any kind of card except for in Lauterbrunnen, where the bus drivers never asked for it. I specifically asked at each hotel I stayed at.

My hotel in Basel said exactly the same thing Karl's did. Our transportation was included with the hotel room.

That bus drivers do not ask you for your ticket is normal. In fact, the bus drivers prefer that you do not bother them, and in Basel I even remember seeing stickers on the busses in the Winter asking people to board through the second and subsequent doors. This so the driver doesn't get pelted with a frigid blast at every stop...

But that does not mean that you can travel without a ticket. The principe of public transit in Switzerland is that you, and you alone, are responsible for having the right ticket on you when travelling. And if you are caught without the right ticket they throw the book at you. And may even throw you in jail. Yes really.

I will repeat: It is not the transportation companies responsibility to ensure you have a ticket. That is your responsibility. That may seem odd if you come from a place where queueing to have your ticket chekced when boarding a bus or train is considered normal.

So do not assume that because you see a lot of people just boarding a bus and taking a seat without fuss that public transit is free. It is most empathically not. Most people you will see boarding will have some sort of local transit pass. It is common in cities that basically everyone has some sort of pass. Or otherwise already have a ticket. Integrate public transit tariffs means that someone from the country going to the city for shopping for example will have a ticket that covers not just transport to the city, but local transport in the city as well. So you walk of the train and on the bus without much fuss.

We just do not like to waste people's time, so boarding is through all doors, without ticket checks, so that dwell times are shorter, and busses have an easier time sticking to their schedule. (Because even when a bus comes very 3 minutes, they are still running to an exact schedule).

In some places your accomodation does indeed give you a ticket for local transport, but they actually have to give you something. You cannot assume that you can just get on a bus and say if there is an inspection that you are a tourist.

Thanks for your thorough reply WengenK. I understand the public transport honor system in Switzerland and it's good to spell it out for all visitors. My Basel hotel says that my my printed hotel confirmation will suffice for my trip from the train station to the hotel on the day of our arrival. Interestingly enough, the hotel I will be staying at later in Luzern tells me that they will email my Luzern pass prior to my arrival. I like that idea better.

@Karl, here is my suggestion: Have one person from your group enter through the front door and confirm with the driver that the information you received from your hotel is correct. The rest of your group, along with your luggage, can enter through the middle doors. This area typically has space for prams, luggage, shopping carts, etc.

I think pretty much every local and tourist staying in Switzerland lodging can use the buses/trams for no charge in Switzerland. Except for Lauterbrunnen, we were never given a card or anything.

You will definitely be given something, either a card or a small booklet listing every included attraction. It will have your name and the dates for which you have paid for lodging. This is what you will need to show as your ‘ticket’ on the bus. However, it is not always for certain that the bus is included, always check to be sure!

I thought the middle doors were for people exiting the bus. Is that not true everywhere?

I thought the middle doors were for people exiting the bus. Is that not true everywhere?

In Switzerland, when entering a bus, train, or tram, you should stand to the side and allow passengers to exit first, then get on. In my experience living here, I have never encountered a designated door specifically for exiting.

I thought the middle doors were for people exiting the bus. Is that
not true everywhere?

Public transport varies a lot by country. In Italy it is indeed common that you board through the first or last door, and exit through the middle. In the UK you always board through the front (and often busses only have one door, so first people alight, then people board. One reason why buses are so slow in the UK).

In Switzerland you normally can board through any door. On some lines we even have busses with trailers, where it is even impossible to interact with the driver if you board in the trailer.

I'll be in Basel in June next year so your post caught my eye. From the Basel card website https://www.basel.com/en/baselcard

Throughout your entire stay (maximum of 30 days), the BaselCard
entitles you to ride on all public transport in Basel – including your
initial journey to your hotel. It allows you to use second-class
public transport in the city of Basel and the surrounding area (TNW
zones 10, 11, 13/EuroAirport, 14 and 15 = area of validity same as the
Basel day ticket).

The booking confirmation of your hotel or Airbnb in Basel serves as a
free ticket for the transfer from the airport or train station to your
hotel.

@jules m, don't try that in Zurich, as they do not have "guest cards", unless, of course you buy one.

My hotel in Luzern actually emailed me a QR code to use before I got to the hotel. It was redundant, as I also had a Swiss Travel Pass. But no one on any buses I used, whether local or Postbuses checked for tickets. A ticket inspector could have jumped on the bus at some point and checked everybody's ticket, which is how they enforce it. If that does happen, you just show your hotel confirmation. Ticket inspectors know all about it and won't give it a second thought.

We were not "cheating" in terms of riding without the purchase of a ticket. We were told by every hotel we stayed at the local transportation was included in the room rate. It was my impression that the hotel pays some fee so that guests can use local transportation. It didn't matter in our case because we had the Swiss travel pass for one trip. For our trip that included Basel, we were expressly told that we did not pay for local transportation, it was included in the room rate. We took the tram from the airport to city center, and per Sam, it sounds like we would not have had an issue since we had hotel confirmations. We didn't spend any time in Zurich.

I'm going to remove my initial post and defer to the locals.

Every lodging is supposed to collect (and pass on to the local tourist office) the tourist tax. And that does indeed often include free local transport, I know it does in Bern, and it does in Interlaken and in Grindelwald, but it for example is not the case in Lauterbrunnen or Wengen.
But you should then receive a guest card that you can show during an inspection so that you can prove you are indeed entitled to free transport.
That is the puzzling thing. Those hotels should have given you that card, not just told that you can travel for free. That is the thing that puzzles the locals and the experienced Switzerland travelers here.