Half pass ID

This is impossible to predict, because each conductor is different. And it’s important to note that it’s not just with the Half Fare Card that you may be asked for ID. You can be asked to produce ID with any type of Pass or ticket, even just “regular” train tickets.

This has been my experience on several recent trips to Switzerland:

On some train rides, no one will come by to check tickets or ID.

Some conductors will just ask to see your ticket/Pass and not ID.

Some will want to see both ticket/Pass and ID. For my first couple of trips, I was able to show a photocopy of my passport and that was accepted with no problems. However, last year, one conductor wanted to see my actual passport.

So, I suspect you will come across some conductors that will accept a non Swiss drivers license. But, you may come across one that will not. And then what happens? Will you just receive a warning? Or a fine?

I’m not a risk taker, so I will always carry my passport in my money belt. I’ve worn it so often now that I don’t even realize I have it on.

This has been hotly debated many times all over the internet and many people will tell you passport is required. It’s not. If you look at the SBB website, they specifically list IDs they accept, including….

-Passports OR ID cards, Swiss or international.
-ID documents issued by the road traffic authorities.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/stations/services-station/sbb-customer-identification.html

Photocopy of passport is understandable to not allow, but a physical copy of an official drivers license or govt issued ID is perfectly fine.

We spend our summers living in Switzerland & I too don’t want to be carrying my passport around hiking, etc. so I always use my American drivers license without any issue whatsoever. I’ve asked SBB employees before, who have confirmed the info on the official link above. If someone is concerned about this and wants to not carry a passport, feel free to keep this website link handy to show a conductor if they try to demand your passport. It won’t go very far down the chain of command before it’s confirmed that you can use your ID card.

All categories (except provisional) of driving licences issued by the
cantonal road traffic authorities

I read this as meaning a Swiss driver’s license, not all driver licenses. And generally, a driver’s license is not considered to be an international ID. But, it really only matters what the conductor that asks you for ID thinks.

If hassled, just explain that is all you have with you. The worst that can happen is take the next train. Some conductors can be unpleasant, but most are very nice and accommodating.

Thus the debate continues :)

I can tell you from long standing experience that I've never once had an issue using a drivers license as ID and I spend a significant amount of time every year in Switzerland riding trains with passes.

Is there a tiny possibility at some point you run into a conductor who decides they want to see your passport? Sure. Are they going to arrest you for it? No. The absolute worst case scenario is that they're going to make you purchase a new ticket right on the spot because they're having a bad day. Record the incident on your phone as it's happening, go to a ticket counter later on with your drivers license, passport, half fare card and/or train pass + the ticket you were forced to purchase and they will refund you the ticket. This is not an issue of being kicked out of the country or something, so it's really not worth stressing about. And the tiny chance of this happening isn't worth me dragging my passport everywhere and risking losing it, which is way more of a hassle to replace than dealing with SBB.

so it's really not worth stressing about

This is great advice that i need to remind myself of. I hate to be embarrassed if I do something wrong, but it's not the end of the world.

Hi,

Im looking to get a half pass for my time in switzerland but im seeing
posts about needed to carry ID with you.

Would my UK driving license work for this? I really don't want to be
carrying my passport around everyday if i can help it!

Schengen rules require you to be able to do two things:
- Identify yourself using a recognised form of identification - for the UK that is only a passport
- Justify your presence in the Area
If you are unable to do so, then you can be arrested and held until such time as someone shows up to identify you.

Places that I have been checked:
- Zurich train station (the police often do a sweep of the station in the late evenings)
- Trains around the outskirts of Geneva
- Trains between Basel and Zurich
- Between the Swiss and German stations in Basel

On one occasion my Swiss colleague was arrested. because he forgot to bring his ID card and we had to get off the train, he was locked up and I sat in the waiting room until his wife came three hours later with his ID card...

It's up to you of course, but I would not want to loose a day or more for the sake of not carrying official ID.

To be clear to not cause confusion, these are 2 separate issues. The poster was referring to the SBB train system requirements, not the government, so they 100% will not be arresting you for lack of ID when checking passes/tickets. The worst they can do is make you purchase a ticket on sight, as I said.

What you are referring to is the police enforcing a government issue. Are you saying it’s a law in all of Schengen Europe that every single person carries their passport around with them at all times? That it’s an expectation that someone running from their house to the park needs to be able to show their passport? This seems quite intense. I have never heard or seen anyone being randomly checked, unless there was some sort of suspicious activity going on.

I do recall one train day trip, but not in Switzerland, where the conductor asked for my passport. I showed him a photocopy I always carry and also showed my US driver's license. I told him my passport was in my hotel safe. He said sternly you must carry your passport with you. I said yes sir, I will from now on. I knew because I was an American he was exerting some extra effort to puff out his chest. He wasn't asking anyone else for ID or passports. I thanked him very much.

I still only carry my passport while actually traveling between hotels. I rarely carry it during the day unless I think it will expedite entrance somewhere.

The State Department recommends: Carry your passport book when traveling to another country in the Schengen area. Even if there is no border check at that time, officials may reinstate border controls without notice.

As an aside, I got a surly conductor on a TGV from Paris to Strasbourg who just didn't want to believe that me, an American, could have figured out how to buy and use a SNCF discount card. So he wanted to see not only my ticket but the discount card AND my passport. He sulked away when I was able to present them all. Perhaps because the train was going on to Germany he was a German conductor?

As for passports, when you're travelling you always need some kind of ID on your person (because God forbid ...). Is there any better, more widely accepted, harder to reject ID than a passport? Use a wallet inside your pants since you're only going to have to show it a few times.