Jan 21, 2016 - 3:11 PM
in reply to mikesc60
Hi Mike-
I am aware of a couple of kinds of "Tageskarten."
One is something like what you described...they were specials for a single day, available in limited quantity. My Swiss friends would describe getting in line at their local station before it opened in the morning....in the days when their local station was still manned...and getting a couple for a day. They explored a lot of the country that way. You could not reserve them....they were "pop-ups."
The other is as a supplement to a half-fare card. I don't know if they are still available. When I used it, here is how it worked:
1.- Have a valid half-fare card.
2.- Buy a ticket with 6 individual validities for one day each of your choice for a year with no cost wherever you travel, similar to a Swiss Travel Pass. I don't recall whether they worked for mountain railways such as the BOB or the line to the Jungfraujoch.
If I recall correctly, they cost about 80 or 90 CHF per day and would only be useful for lots of travel in a single day. Maybe someone in Geneva who did not have a GA might buy one if they had to go to St. Gall and return would benefit
3.- On the day that you chose to use a "day-card" you validated it in one of the orange machines on the train platform.
4.- When the conductor asked to see your ticket, you showed the validated day card + your Halb-tax.
Perhaps there are other variations, such as you describe.
I'm sure that whatever exists is described somewhere on the SBB website.
Slowpoke