The title says it all, but here’s some context.
Our family arrived yesterday and took the bus (line 141 between Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg) twice today. Neither time were we offered a way to pay for the bus (and neither was anyone else on the bus).
Are we supposed to pay? Not on Sundays? I’ve scoured the internet and can find no consistent answer so I thought I’d ask here.
Thanks,
Charlie
Yes, you should pay the driver unless you have a pass that covers the Post Bus. We get the Berner Oberland Regional Pass so when we jump on that bus or almost any other in the BO it is covered. There is a n honor system and occasionally you will run into fare inspectors as we did in Kandersteg this year.
If you didn't have a ticket you should have bought one from the driver. That is the "way to pay" that you are offered. Or you can also buy tickets from a ticket vending machine, or from the ticket office in Lauterbrunnen or Stechelberg. Or you use your phone app.
And you do not need to buy a ticket for the bus separately if it is part of a larger trip. For example if you are travelling from Interlaken to Murren via Stechelberg you just buy an Interlaken - Murren ticket, and it is valid for the train, bus and cable car.
So most people will already be in possession of a ticket when they board, and just get on an take a seat. That you can just board and not have to show a ticket to the driver may seem odd to some, but that is how it works in Switzerland.
Start with the general assumption - Nothing in Switzerland is free!
In many any areas of the public transport system there is just random checks carried out to see if passengers have bough a ticket and if not the penalty is high - 70 to 100 Francs. Depending on the situation you can buy tickets from the driver, ticketing machines at stops, on line, at the counter in railway stations and so on.
Watch out for signs like this, it indicates that you need to soft out a ticket for yourself and the fine you pay if you are caught.
Thanks to everyone for your help. For us, the best answer was to download the SBB Mobile app, register for an account, put a credit card on file, and use the app to buy tickets for each upcoming bus trip. Then we just got on the bus each time secure in the knowledge that we’d be able to show our tickets if asked.
Thanks again,
Charlie
