John, your “haha” response seems to indicate you think the Swiss Travel Pass is designed to overcharge tourists. That is not the case at all. Swiss residents have a similar card, but it is for a full year, not a few days. And as noted, many Swiss residents choose a Half Fare Card instead, for their normal travel needs—-but they are not moving around between cities and riding lifts as much as the average tourist.
You say you are confused about what the STP covers, but it is not that difficult to understand. It fully covers (100%) of your travel by boat and train between inhabited villages. It also covers cablecars and mountain trains when those are the only access to villages (like Wengen, Mürren, and Zermatt). It offers the convenience of just getting on the train without stopping to buy tickets. And it gives you 50% off almost all of the recreational lifts and cablecars. The one exception I can think of is the pricy Jungfrau trip, which is discounted only 25% above Wengen (or Grindelwald). But since it fully covers travel as far as Wengen (or Grindelwald), the total discount on the Jungfrau trip is more than 25%.
The STP also fully cover the whole Rigi loop, including boat, cogwheel train, and cablecar. When I suggested that to you I assumed you would have a pass.
Whether or not the STP is a cost -saver to any visitor totally depends on where they go, the amount of travel they anticipate, and the number of lifts they plan to ride. If their visit to Switzerland includes 4-5 days or more in the Berner Oberland, the regional BO Pass may be a better buy. If they want to visit cities like Bern, Basel and Luzern, they may not want any pass. Or if they are not traveling far from their base in the mountains and mainly hiking without using lifts, they may not need a pass for that.
