Pass for driving a car in Switzerland

You buy the pass for Switzerland at the border checkpoint when you enter. Unfortunately, you buy it for the year, regardless of how long you'll be in Switzerland.

If you're renting a car, the rental company should either provide the autobahn decals or let you know if you need them. In Switzerland it's true they just have the year pass. Austria has shorter ones, such as 10 days. And to answer your question about the Austrian Polizei, YES. They indeed sometimes stand on the autobahn flagging over people who do not have stickers. We saw it in January when we went skiing there, even just the short bit around Bregenz I think you're talking about. The sticker for $10 is a far better deal than the possibly hundred dollar fine you could get.

The problem aren't so much the actual Austrian cops, but the security guys (Mautaufsicht, with limited police powers though) from ASFiNAG, the company that runs the Austrian Autobahn system.
The fines are just another profitable income stream. Oh, the joys of privatization...

Mike: Check on E-bay. A few years ago we bought the "vignette" needed for the Swiss highways from someone who had not used it and who offered it for sale on-line. I think we paid $15.

Munich, Switzerland, Austria are all well served by trains which don't require vignettes, expensive petrol, over priced parking and high deductible car insurance. Drive only if you must. But Switzerland, for example, has one of the best public transport systems in the world. Munich has a wonderful subway system, too.

If you rent from one of the agencies at the Munich Hauptbahnhof, they can provide the vignette stickers if you ask... well, at least Sixt can, I'm not sure about the other companies.

Mike, a friend here thinks she paid 27 euros this year, so it's a little more than the $10-15 other people quote. Or you can pay in Swiss Francs.

Swiss Vignette is, and has been for several years CHF40. Austrian Vignette for the shortest time is €7.90, or was the last time I looked. Some people say the name is "Verkauf" not vignette. That is because of the big signs along the side of the roads as you approach showing a picture of the vignette and the word Verkauf across the front. Verkauf is German for "sale", in other words it is for sale here. Get your required vignettes or risk a biggish fine.

For Austria, isn't it still the case the vignette is needed only if using the Autobahn but not when using non-Autobahn highways? We bought one at the first gas station we came across after leaving Germany for Salzburg...could also have picked one up on the German side but didn't. I would throw yet another permit at you and tell you about German city low emission zones, but your car should already have a permit for that if rented in Germany. Maybe if we look hard enough, we can find a few more permits for you. :)

OK everyone, thank you much for the great information. So these are for sale at multiple locations as I approach the border? Like how many kilometers out do you start to see the signs, or are they concentrated at the border? I have read you can get them at gas stations. Is this true/ thanks again.

It varies from entry point to entry point but I would say the the Austrian vignettes start to show up a couple of rest areas before the border on autobahns and maybe 8 to 16 km on non-autobahns. Switzerland, maybe one rest area and at the border. You can also get the Swiss Vignette online from the Swiss Travel System , but it really is easy to get at the border. Wikipedia has a good article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignette_(road_tax) but for some reason this helpline won't allow me to create a link.

In Austria the vignette is for driving on A and S roads. If driving along the border in the Bregenz area I defy you to do that without at least some time on an A road, even if one exit. And they do watch. This is the voice of experience. In Switzerland it is for the Autobahns. I have yet to see a car in Switzerland not have one. If coming in from Austria it would be pretty hard to avoid an Autobahn. In Switzerland some single lane roads, for example in and out of Interlaken, are considered Autobahns.

I plan on purchasing one for Switzerland and Austria as well. Don't need to get a huge ticket. What about the low emmision pass for Germany? I am going to be passing through Germany, staying the night in Munich, then to Switzerland in the morning. Do I need a pass? thanks much!

Mike: Many German cities now have emissions regulations that will require your auto to have the appropriate sticker. Read the details for Munich here: http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/rgu/vorsorge_schutz/luft/luftqualitaet/246161/index.html If you rent your car in Germany, it should come with the appropriate permit/sticker. If you rent outside of Germany, chances are you'll need to buy one. Again, the details can be found using the link above. Personally, we use rail for most of our travel but have driven a number of times. Driving can make a lot of sense in places like Bavaria or other rural locales, but all of the extra cost, worry about following all laws/regulations, and the stress of navigating through big cities almost makes it not worth the trouble. You might want to consider Tim's recommendation and take the train. But if you have to drive, I guess you have no choice but to ensure you meet all of these regs.

Just to clarify regarding the emissions sticker, ask the rental company about it. If the car is registered in Germany, it should have one. You can't buy one anywhere like you buy the vignette. The car itself needs to go through a DMV-like emissions check to get the green (or yellow or red) sticker.