Single journey bus & tram tickets Zurich & Lucerne

Hi, we are arriving for our much awaited trip to Switzerland next week! What is the cost of a single journey ticket for a bus or tram in Zürich and Lucerne respectively? If we have the Half Fare Card - it will be halfprice and with the Family Card the kids under 16 will be free?

Can such ticket be bought at any tram or bus stop (cash or card?) or where do we buy such tickets? We are planning to walk a lot to really experience these cities. But we would probably want to travel from our accommodation to the touristy areas eg. the Old Town.

Thanks for all your valuable information so far. It has really helped a lot.

Hi

usefull tip try and get on a free walking trip - you are obliged to give a tip for how much you think this tour was worth

They will give you a good insight into the cities which you can then further explore at your own leisure

Have a look at the following links

www.freewalk.ch/zurich /

www.freewalk.ch/lucern e

Also as you are in Zurich take a trip to the Rhinefalls only a hour from Zurich and don't forget to visit either Schauffsen (not sure of spelling ) and the Munot (small free castle with outlook over the Rhine) and also Stein am Rhein you can also cruise down to these on a Rhine Cruise starting in Zurich (think its 5 hrs though)

Hope this helps but I don't know your plans and how long you have.

>> Hi, we are arriving for our much awaited trip to Switzerland next week! What is the cost of a single journey ticket for a bus or tram in Zürich and Lucerne respectively?

Zürich: That depends on how many zones you will be travelling in. Single tickets are timed. A Day Pass lasts for 24 hours and costs the same as 2 single tickets.

There is information on the various ticket options below. Tickets can be bought from ticket machines at tram stops etc.

Ticket options

www.zvv.ch/zvv/en/trav elcards-and-tickets/tickets.html

Having decided which type of ticket to get, you will need to work out how many zones it needs to cover. Note that Zone 110 in Central Zürich counts as two zones for calculating ticket cost.

There is a Zone Map here and they are also at tram stops etc:

www.zvv.ch/zvv/en/time table/zonenplan.html

Luzern is similar, with a Day Pass costing the same as 2 single tickets. The main difference is that the central zone, Zone 10, only counts as 2 zones if you are also travelling to another zone. It's also possible that the Day Pass covers a calendar day rather than 24 hours, but I am not sure.

As far as I can see, the website for the VBL, the Luzern public transport operator, is only in German. However, here are some links to information about zones and tickets:

Zones

www.vbl.ch/billette-abos/zonen-und-netzplan/

Single tickets

www.vbl.ch/billette-abos/passepartout-einzelfahrausweise/ein zelbillette/

Day Pass

www.vbl.ch/billette-abos/passepartout-einzelfahrausweise/tag eskarten/

>> If we have the Half Fare Card - it will be halfprice and with the Family Card the kids under 16 will be free?

I'm not an expert on the circumstances under which children travel free, so I'll leave that to someone else to answer. I hope the rest of it is useful to you

<<"Can such ticket be bought at any tram or bus stop (cash or card?) or where do we buy such tickets? We are planning to walk a lot to really experience these cities. But we would probably want to travel from our accommodation to the touristy areas eg. the Old Town.">>

Hi Vanessa... a short time ticket good for a couple of hours costs 3 or so CHF, and somewhat less with a half fare card. You can buy them at most every tram stop. All take coins and paper money. Credit cards are usable at almost all of the stops. The ticket machines in Zürich main station offer approximately 153,332 choices ;-)

Just joking...but I still don't get it right on every try. There is definitely some benefit to getting a day ticket, in which case the zone issue arises, as Alpenrose mentioned.

The machines sometimes show a Kurzstrecke "(short course"] ticket good for 30 minutes or so... cheaper. Not much use unless you have only one journey in mind.

If I am going to spend time in a town, I look for some kind of day-card or 24 hour card. To choose, you can work the ticket machines, or, better, go the office mentioned below. The aim is flexibility to use the really excellent and frequent trams and buses at will in Zürich ( at least) by getting on and off a lot. Saves your energy and legs.

In Luzern, I have not worked out the system, but the LVV ( Luzern Verkehrsvererein used to be on the lower level of the station , in the direction toward the toilets. Not sure if it moved upstairs with the SBB..

For Zürich, I'd go to the ZVV ( Zürich Verkehrs Verein) office in the new section of Shopville under Zürich main station.

Explain your needs, and they will sell you the correct ticket(s). If the question arises, you will NOT need first class.

Slowpoke