Half Fare Travelcard for non Swiss residents
A traveler named Lyllianna wants to buy a Half Fare Travelcard in Switzerland but faced issues doing so online due to a location restriction. She is looking for guidance on purchasing the card at a train station or airport, and the necessary documents needed for the application process.
- Purchase the Half Fare Travelcard at the SBB office in Zurich Airport or any train station for a hassle-free experience.
- Bring your passport and a photo as required documents when applying for the Half Fare Travelcard.
- You may need to create a SwissPass account to manage your travelcard online, so set that up beforehand.
- If you purchase the Half Fare Travelcard at a station, you can expect a paper copy to use until your actual card arrives.
AI-generated summary-
Hi!
I travel to Switzerland a couple of times in a year and would like to apply for a Half Fare Travelcard at a price of 185CHF which allows to buy tickets reduced by 50%:
http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelca rds-and-tickets/railpasses/hal f-fare-travelcard.html
I tried to buy a card over the internet but couldn’t finish the procedure due to an error saying that my country is not boarding Switzerland.
How can I buy this card? Is it possible to buy it at train station e.g. in Zurich or at the airport?
Which documents are required to apply for a card? I read that a photo is required and also I need to have ID/Passport with me. Could you, please, confirm that?
Best regards!
-
Hello Lyllianna,
Since I do not live in Switzerland, I was not able to purchase the Half-Fare Card on-line.
I purchased my Half-Fare Card at the SBB office in the train station my second day in Switzerland. It was easy to do with the help of the SBB customer service representative. My Swiss-German is OK, and her English was terrific, so we got it done in about 10 minutes.
I received a paper copy to use until my card was mailed to my cousin’s address here in Switzerland.
What I am not clear about is whether I can renew it on-line or whether I have to be in Switzerland to renew it.
Myriam
Hi Lyllianna and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Yes, that was the case previously, that you must live in a country bordering Switzerland t be able to buy it.
You will need a SwissPass account a well.
This webpage at SBB should explain everything: https://www.sbb.ch/en/ travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses/hal f-fare-travelcard.html You need to set up a Swiss Pass as well so be sure to click on that tab for more details.
We just were in Switzerland 2 weeks ago, and I purchased the half-fare passes for myself and my husband at the train station at Interlaken. My German is abysmal, but the lady at the ticket counter spoke excellent English. We had to show our passports. Perhaps I had a different half-fare pass, because ours were paper; they didn’t come as a hard card, and were temporary.
There are two similar products:
Swiss Half Fare Card for tourists (last 30 days) https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisshalffarecar d
and the Half Fare TravelCard which can be bought by anyone but is intended for use by Swiss residents (valid for a year). Some tourists who travel to Switzerland frequently sometimes get this product. It is more hassle but can be worth it for frequent visitors.
Suggest you buy it at the SBB office in Zürich airport.
Once you have one, it is easy to renew each year.
- The thread ‘Half Fare Travelcard for non Swiss residents’ is closed to new replies.
