At the end of 2023, the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) stated that transport companies were wrongly labelling passengers as fraudsters when they bought their tickets after departure. This intervention was preceded by numerous complaints from passengers. However, the FOT has since made a remarkable turnaround, according to the “SonntagsBlick” on the basis of internal documents it was able to consult. At the beginning of 2024, representatives of public transport complained about the FOT’s criticism, which led to numerous requests for reimbursement of fines, particularly from law firms. It was then decided to set up a working group to resolve the dispute.
Last May, the federal authority presented a joint solution with the SwissPass Alliance, the public transport sector organisation, which stipulated that the applicable rules would remain unchanged. In other words, the FOT now officially supports the previously heavily criticised practice, according to which electronic tickets are only valid if they have been purchased before departure.
Questioned by “SonntagsBlick”, the OFT did not answer the question of why the Confederation had given in in the negotiations with the public transport sector. “The current practice of transport companies is in accordance with the law,” he said suddenly. The OFT, however, reserves the right to intervene again if the situation continues to be unsatisfactory for passengers.
