Alpine Ticket on postbus routes

I have the 15 day Swiss Travel Pass for our holiday in July and have reserved seats on the postbus four mountain passes route departing Meiringen. Information on the Swiss Travel System web site appears to suggest the route is fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass (Flex) and GA travelcard but doesn't specifically mention the full Swiss Travel Pass. Information supplied with my STP states that on some postbus routes (eg Alpine passes) a supplement (Alpine Ticket) is required. Does anyone know if the full STP covers the route and if a supplement is payable, what is the cost ? The Postbus web site also mentions the Alpine Ticket but the link to calculate any supplement payable doesn't appear to work. Many thanks.

Hello Wrwhite,

Welcome to MySwissAlps! The routes are fully covered, please see the map at myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ validity.

The Alpine Ticket has been discontinued a few years ago; in 2015 I think. Who did you buy the Swiss Travel Pass from, and which information was supplied with it? Can you attach a copy here perhaps?

Hi Arno,

Bought the Swiss Travel Pass from ACPRail (great service).The information about the Travel Conditions for the Swiss Travel System is printed on the wallet containing the pass. It states On some postbus routes (eg Alpine passes) a supplement (Alpine Ticket) and/or a seat reservation is required. Based on what you say, I guess the wallet notes haven't been updated.

Thanks for a great web site, Chris.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the additional info. I will pass this on to them. They're a credible company indeed, this must be a glitch they need to fix.

Enjoy your trips!

Hi Arno,

On a similar theme, do you know whether the Swiss Travel Pass is valid on the routes covered by Grindelwaldbus ? I read a blog today at www.clicktraveltips.co m/easy-walks-near-interlaken-switzerland-grindelwald-first-grosse-scheidegg/ which suggests there is an appreciable mountain route supplement payable as the STP doesn't allow free travel on these buses. The Swiss Transport map appears to suggest these routes are included for the STP so I'm wondering if the information in the blog is simply out of date.

Regards,

Chris

Hi Chris

>> On a similar theme, do you know whether the Swiss Travel Pass is valid on the routes covered by Grindelwaldbus ?

Yes, it is. You get free travel on the town bus routes, and 50% discount on the mountain routes.

There is a diagram of the Grindelwald Bus routes here:

www.grindelwaldbus.ch/ pictures/3a/bqeqylojp7 fuqv9b5idtiw56wtxkrb/l inienplan_grindelwaldb us_sommer2017-1422.jpg

So for the route between Grindelwald and the Grosse Scheidegg, you get free travel as far as Oberer Gletscher, and 50% discount between Oberer Gletscher and the Grosse Scheidegg.

If you go down to Meiringen from the Grosse Scheidegg, you get 50% discount between Grosse Scheidegg and Schwarzwaldalp, and free travel from Schwarzwaldalp to Meiringen. The sector Schwarzwaldalp to Meiringen is operated by the PostBus. (Though in practice you do not always have to change buses.)

>> The Swiss Transport map appears to suggest these routes are included for the STP so I'm wondering if the information in the blog is simply out of date.

The validity map for the Swiss Travel Pass shows a dotted line between Grindelwald and Schwarzwaldalp, indicating a 50% discount. At that scale, there is not the space to indicate that travel from Grindelwald Bahnhof (railway station) to Oberer Gletscher is actually free, as that sector is within Grindelwald village.

Alpenrose

As far as I know all of the Grindelwald bus routes are 50% off with the Swiss Travel Pass. This is pretty rare in Switzerland as nearly everything within inhabited areas is included. Attached is a price list and it shows half the fare even for legs like Grindelwald to Oberer Gletscher. This would explain why the whole line on the map that Alpenrose mentioned is dotted.

Alpenrose, did you get free traveling there recently? Sometimes even the bus drivers are not sure about all passes and exceptions...

Hi Arno,

>> Attached is a price list and it shows half the fare even for legs like Grindelwald to Oberer Gletscher. This would explain why the whole line on the map that Alpenrose mentioned is dotted. Alpenrose, did you get free traveling there recently? Sometimes even the bus drivers are not sure about all passes and exceptions...

That's really strange! I got free travel between Grindelwald Bahnhof and Oberer Gletscher in September last year. I have attached a photo of the sign they had at the bus stop (apologies for the poor quality, as it was under flexible plastic).

I still have my tickets, which were from 3 different bus drivers:

1. Grindelwald, Oberer Gletscher to Schwarzwaldalp CHF 10.70 (I had boarded at Grindelwald Bahnhof)

2. Schwarzwaldalp to Grindelwald, Oberer Gletscher CHF 10.70 (I had boarded at Meiringen and stated my destination as Grindelwald Bahnhof)

3. Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald, Oberer Gletscher (I had stated my destination as Grindelwald Bahnhof) CHF 9.10

I only have three tickets instead of four, because - on showing my Swiss Travel Pass - I was waved through by the driver on one trip up to the Grosse Scheidegg. As you say, sometimes even the bus drivers are not sure when to charge a fare!

Alpenrose

Thank you so much for the detailed advice , Arno and Alpenrose. At least I know what to expect.

Kind regards, Chris

I contacted Grindelwald Bus to verify. It turns out that Alpenrose is correct: free traveling applies in and around the village, discounted traveling applies to mountain routes. Their price list is incorrect, but apparently their drivers apply correct prices :-) I added the exact routes to our page myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ validity for reference. Also I attached their latest map here in this post.

Thanks Alpenrose! Another Swiss Travel Pass mystery has been cleared up!

Enjoy Grindelwald Chris!

>> I contacted Grindelwald Bus to verify

Hi Arno,

Thanks for taking the time to verify the info about the validity of the Swiss Travel Pass on Grindelwald Bus routes!

I hope they will update their website to avoid any further confusion. At least people frequenting MySwissAlps will be in the know!

Alpenrose