Does the half-fare card offer discounts on lifts, cable cars, etc? Is there a list that spells out discounts for lift stations? Rick's book refers always to the Swiss Travel Pass, not the half fare card. We have decided to drive around Switzerland (plus Italy and France) so we will have a need for local lifts and cable cars. The downloaded map called the "map of validity (uebersichtskarte-sts%20(3).pdf)) lists some of the stations in Berner Oberland (Schilthorn, Rothorn, sunnegga, Gornergrat, Almendhubel, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraubahn, etc.). If the station name is listed, does that mean these will cost "half" of the full price with the card? Do "lines of reduction" only refer to train lines? Sorry if I sound like an idiot. I'm working hard to figure this out and appreciate the help. (My apologies for choosing to drive vs. train. I know there is prejudice for prefence.) Since we will be usually staying outside a city center but taking public transport into the center, perhaps our best bet is to pay full inner city transport price and purchase area-specific transport cards (?). Advice, dear experts?
Posted by
Green Bay
21145 posts
Download the map of validity for Switzerland here.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-halffare-card.html
That will show all the lines, including cable lifts, which give Half Fare prices.
Posted by
OP
America's Vancouver and the First
111 posts
Thank you, Sam. Prior to my posting, I previously downloaded that validity schedule and was hoping for more clarity as as my poor muddled brain is struggling with the half fare card coverage. It appears that all solid and dotted red, yellow, black and white lines (whether cable car or train or otherwise) are 50%, With the Swiss Travel Pass they are covered 100%. Am I correct?
Posted by
Washington DC
28073 posts
I haven't used the Swiss Travel Pass for many years, and the rules have been tweaked in the interim, so wait for confirmation from others.
The fine print is hard to read, but it appears to state that the dotted-line transportation is 50% off with both the Half Fare Card and the Swiss Travel Pass. The solid-line routes are 50% off with the Half Fare Card but are free with the Swiss Travel Pass.
However, the text for the Swiss Travel Pass refers specifically to trains, buses and boats, which apparently excludes the cable cars (high-mountain transport, which is often very expensive); I would expect no STP reduction for them [note Lola's following post; apparently I'm wrong about that]. The Half Fare Card rules do not specify trains/buses/boats, so it appears that the HFC 50% reduction applies to the cable cars as well.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17427 posts
The dotted lines are the mountain lifts and cablecars that are covered 50% with either the Swiss Travel Pass or the Half Fare Care. There is one exception, marked with a "1" in a circle. This if for this mountain train to the Jungfraujoch, where the discount with the Swiss Pass is only 25% above Wengen or Grindelwald. This route is still 50% off with the Half Fare Card.
Basically, ALL lifts, trains, boats, and buses (except for very short rides in the cities) are 50% off with the Half Fare Card. The one exception to that is marked with a circled "2". It shows that the Half Fare Card discount does not apply to the French train between the French border and Chamonix. ( The Swiss Travel Pass does fully cover this section of train even though it is in France).
Note the difference between dotted lines and dashed lines. The dashed lines show where a regular train goes through a tunnel.
Posted by
Green Bay
21145 posts
And cable cars not covered by the Half Fare Card are solid blue-gray lines, like shown in Davos. Weissfluh, Parsenn, Jakobshorn.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Maybe you could drop the rental car at the Swiss border and just use public transport and your half fare card for all your Swiss travels? In Switzerland it makes little sense to stay in the outskirts and drive to city center to change to train because tourists don’t usually come to Switzerland to see the cities. They come for the mountains.