Can I add my Berner Oberland Pass to the SBB mobile app?
Victor I. Knox is planning a trip to Switzerland and has purchased Oberland passes and Half Fare Cards for him and his wife. He’s confused about using the SBB app because he can't enter the Oberland Pass and needs advice on how to use his passes when traveling.
- You cannot add the Berner Oberland Pass to the SBB app, so it's best to have a paper copy or a PDF on your phone to show to ticket inspectors.
- For the Half Fare Card, entering as 'Half Fare Travelcard' is fine, and you'll enjoy 50% off fares even if it's not linked to the app.
- It’s a good idea to print multiple copies of your passes and keep them protected in plastic sleeves to avoid issues if you lose one.
AI-generated summary-
I got Oberland passes and Half Fare Cards for my wife and myself. I also have the SBB app, which is really…not wonderful. I made the mistake of buying our Half Fare Cards via Switzerlandtravelcentre.com. That prevents us from having our Half Fare Cards automatically sent to the app, so I had to enter “Half Fare Travelcard” manually. I am told this will work even though it’s a different card.
The app will not let me enter the Oberland Pass. Do I have to wait until I’m in Switzerland and show it to a ticket agent every time I use it? If I ran things, people would be able to buy tickets before arrival.
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I don’t believe regional passes (such as the BO Pass) can be added in the app, from what I have been told. I have one for my upcoming trip, and I plan on presenting the PDF of the BO Pass (either as a paper copy, or showing the actual PDF, with it’s QR code (which is what gets scanned), on my phone.
I may be wrong about that.
It’s weird how fragmented the whole system is. I guess we will have to print out passes and carry them everywhere.
They really need a new app, too. I have used a number of travel apps, and this one is at the bottom.
Hi Victor I.Knox,
Turgon is correct, you can not add the Berner Oberland Pass to the SBB app. (The Berner Oberland Pass is a private set up)
You are best to have either a paper copy or store the pdf on your phone and present when asked by a ticket inspector. You won’t need to purchase any tickets within the coverage area. Just hop on / off. More on how the Berner Oberland Pass works here, scroll to “How does the Berner Oberland Pass work?”:
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Thanks again. This trip would be a mess without helpful people like the ones on this forum.
Hi Victor I. Knox! No worries about not having your Swiss Half Fare Card added to the app. This is often not even possible, and it would hardly more convenient either. Now that you’ve chosen the “Half Fare Travelcard” option (mostly for Swiss residents), you’ll see 50% discounted prices. Switzerland Travel Centre is the SBB’s official shop for tourists, so you made a perfect choice.
The SwissPass account in the SBB app focuses on Swiss residents and their travel products/subscriptions: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/residents/.
I deliberately bought large size plastic lanyards to protect the print outs of my Swiss Half Fare Card and BO Pass. The kind of plastic sleeves you carry an ID card in, except larger.
And I made multiple copies of the transit pass printouts, and keep them in my luggage, in case I happen to lose either pass during my stay. That way, I know I can at least continue on commuting during the rest of my stay, because from what I hear, it’s not easy, if not outright impossible, to get a replacement pass if yours is lost or stolen.
Just a suggestion.
I do the same with photocopies of my passport. I carry those around with me, and try and leave my passport secure in the hotel safe.
Correct Turgon, paper passes will not get replaced. That’s one of the reasons to buy online. That way you can keep as many copies as you want on your phone, laptop, in the cloud, etc. Sounds like you are well prepared.
By the way, a copy of a passport is not considered a valid travel document. In many cases, they’ll accept it anyway, but officially you need the actual thing.
In my case, buying a regional pass was a pre-requisite for booking express luggage delivery service that SBB doesn’t offer, so no online for me. Not a great loss, for the convenience of same day luggage delivery to an SBB station. I’ll just show the paper.
As for passports, I wasn’t asked once for a passport, but I know others have, and I could. But I also have the passport card, which is an official passport document and proof of citizenship, it looks like a photo drivers license. It’s just not valid for international travel by air, hence the need for the passport book.
I didn’t get the Travelcard. I got the Half Fare Card. The SBB app forces you to call the Half Fare Card a Half Fare Travelcard when you enter it. Crazy. I bought some info from a travel guru couple, and they say this works. Doesn’t make our actual cards hook up to the app, however. This is all very backward.
Here’s something amusing: SBB sent me two links to add our Half Fare Cards to Google Wallet, and Google does not recognize the file format. How can SBB not be aware they’re sending useless files? I went through the hassle of setting up Google Wallet for nothing.
I got our Oberland Passes added to Google Wallet and the BLS app.
I have printed out all 4 of the QR codes from our passes and laminated them. They are labeled, and I punched holes in the plastic so we can put them on lanyards if need be. Can we use these to get around, or will they insist on paper printouts of the entire passes?
We are also taking multiple hardcopies.
Another question: will an American driver’s license be accepted as ID for train purposes?
With all the terrorism, the US has gone to “Real ID” drivers’ licenses. They’re actually more secure and harder to get than passports, but after seeing the issues with the rail technology, I wonder if the rail people know this.
Can you share the steps to add the Half Fare Card to Google Wallet? I don’t see any way to add it specifically, unless it’s by the generic “Everything else” option, which scans a photo, and adds that. I’ve used Google Wallet a number of times.
There’s a BLS specific app??
I could NOT add the Half Fare Card to Google Wallet. SBB sent me unusable files.
I was able to add the Oberland Passes. I downloaded the passes and did whatever Google Wallet told me to do with them. I’m sorry I don’t remember the actual steps. My head is spinning from dealing with the SBB app.
I added IMAGES of our Half Fare Cards to Google Wallet, but they are just images. I put them in the Events category. Probably a bad idea, since Google Wallet requires a date, and I used the first day of the passes. I’ll bet it hides them the next day, thinking they expired.
There is a BLS app on Google Play.
From what I was reading, the SBB Half Fare Card files you were sent were for Apple Wallet, and support for those kinds of files is supposed to be coming to Google Wallet “Real Soon Now”.
I was able to take a photo of my Half Fare Card and add it to Google Wallet, I assume that might be good enough. They need to be able to read your name, and scan the QR code from the photo.
I’m still taking the paper print out in the plastic sleeves that attach to lanyards. I bought sleeves that are 4x 8 inches/10 x 20 cm, and folded the paper in half, so my name shows on one side, and the QR code shows on the other. So the conductor will have to flip itt over, to see everybody they need to see. Not an insurmountable obstacle.
I store my passes on my phone, like any other PDF I download (restaurant menus, etc.). There’s no need for passes or tickets in an app, although it could work if the app supports PDF files.
Arno, how do you store PDFs on your phone? Do you have an app? I always find them hard to find right at the time I want them which is why I much prefer things in the Apple Wallet or a dedicated app like SBB.
Victor I. Knox, you seem to have had lots of issues with SBB and the Swiss Railways system, which is so surprising as it flies in the face of my admittedly limited experience so far and every post I read from others. I find the SBB app incredibly simple to use, although we haven’t actually gone yet. Buying Saver Day Passes has been simple and they appear easily in the app. Everything has been remarkably easy.
Maybe when I try and buy my half fare cards and BO Pass in the next week or two I will change my mind though!
My one big issue is the question of carrying passports. I have probably read equal numbers of those who say a driver’s licence is acceptable or a passport copy and those who say that it is not. I will obviously have my passport when changing location, but definitely not on a day trip. I have never carried it on those circumstances and don’t intend to start now.
My fingers will be crossed hard that we don’t get fined, but that is better than being pickpocketed and losing a passport.
Hi DebH,
I’m using an iPhone so PDF doc that I received by emails are saved in the Files app. To retrieve, just click on the Files app and click on the file/doc as you would on a laptop or desktop Alternatively, you can save the PDF doc into to your photo gallery. If you are travelling in a group, you can send the PDF doc to other group members via WhatsApp or any other messaging platform, so everyone will have access to the document.
Hope this helps.
regards,
Anna
Hi DebH,
I have an app called “File Manager” on my Android phone. That’s what I use to create a folder (I name it “Switzerland”) on the internal storage of my phone. That’s where I keep my important files. The app also allows moving files around. E.g. if a downloaded file ends up in “Downloads”, I can move it to “Switzerland”. The app is on my home screen for easy access.
There’s also an app called “Files” that allows me to access all folders in the internal storage. I am quite sure that both apps came preinstalled. Apple has similar options, see Anna’s post.
Nothing wrong with Wallet apps and dedicated train operator apps, but they tend to not support all file types, and it’s something extra to install. I prefer using the core apps that are on my phone already. It’s not much different from handling files in the File Explorer on a Windows PC.
We get this question a lot. Perhaps I should make a video about it? Thanks for the idea 🙂 Our other videos are here if you haven’t seen them yet: https://www.youtube.com/@myswissalps.
Thanks, all. I got some good information elsewhere, so I will share it. Someone in Switzerland said to just get on board and have the QR code, not the whole paper pass, ready in case the conductor wants to scan it. I am told even a stored photo of the code will work, but I like small physical cards which are easier and faster to pull out and use. We overuse technology sometimes and make life harder. I don’t want to dig in my phone for everything. Pulling up PDF files in Android My Files is a clumsy process.
The email that came with the Half Fare Cards provided two links to use to add the passes to my wallet, and it didn’t specify Apple or Android. Beneath the links, it suggested I download Google Wallet, specifically. I didn’t know the files were only for Apple, because the email implied they were for Android. I guess the people at SBB just haven’t done a good job. Looks like we’ll be fine, though.
I also have the Trainline and Italo Treno apps, and I have had no trouble with them apart from being unable to store a US phone number in the Italo Treno app.
Can’t wait to see Switzerland again. I wish Europe still had the old trains. I remember taking a whole compartment and folding all the seats flat so it was like a huge bed. Fun experience for a kid. I guess those days are gone for good.
Thanks Anna and Arno. I do have the Files app and yes, everything appears to be there under Downloads. I still find it pretty finnicky to use though. I do like the idea of saving them in Photos or even in Notes. I have no doubt I will work something out before we get there.
There is another way to store a PDF directly on there home screen of you’re phone. Files that are stored in Google Drive can be set to show on the home screen. Google Drive is free for any one with a Google account. Android users have Goggle account by default, but Apple users can use a Google Drive account with an Iphone, too.
So first, add the PDF files to your Google Drive. There are multiple ways to do this, do a search for how.
In the Google Drive app on your phone, navigate to the PDF file. Tap the 3 dots next to the file name. Scroll down the long list of options, and you’ll find “Add to Home Screen” near the very bottom. Tap that.
And you’ll find an icon of your file on your home screen somewhere. Tap it, it will open the PDF directly.
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