New law as of January 1, 2014. Drivers must drive with their headlights lit at all times, including daytime.
Cars, trucks, delivery vehicles, buses, and motorcycles will be obligated to drive with their lights on. Drivers who do not follow this requirement shall be fined Fr. 40.-.
The daytime use of headlights will not be required for mopeds, electric bikes, and cycles and vehicles put into circulation before 1970.
If you like exploring Switzerland, then you should try and take advantage of at least one of the great deals being offered this autumn by the Swiss train operator, SBB.
Priced at just Fr. 35.-, the new Companion Ticket is perfect for anyone wishing to take a day trip with a family member or friend throughout Switzerland. Valid for one day, this ticket will enable you to go absolutely anywhere in Switzerland on trains, boats and postbuses.
Available until 31 October, 2013, the Companion Ticket is available online from the SBB Ticket Shop, via SBB Mobile, from ticket machines and railway station counters. It can be “combined” with any of the following tickets and travelcards:
- 1-day travelpass for the Half-Fare travelcard
- 9 o’clock travelpass for the Half-fare travelcard
- GA travel card, (1st or 2nd class)
Alternatively ,if you fancy taking a longer break, the Holiday Passport will provide you with unlimited travel throughout the entire GA travelcard area of validity, even without the Half-Fare travelcard, for as little as CHF 149 for 4 days of your choice. With the Combined Holiday Passport for Germany, priced from just CHF 119, you can also travel throughout the whole of Germany as well.
The holiday passport is only available for those with permanent residence in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein. It may only be purchased when presenting official identification (passport, ID, residence permit) at the ticket counter.
For more details and the full terms and conditions, click on the following links:
Photo by Laurent Caudéran
If you drive a car, the chances are that you have, at some time, become frustrated by the process of trying to pay for your place at a parking meter – either because you don’t have the right change, or you have to spend ages keying in bank card details.
In Lausanne, this problem is rapidly disappearing with the introduction of a new range of parking meters covering up to 2500 places throughout the city.
Manufactured by Parkeon, in collaboration with Parkomatic, the new meters will enable customers to pay with bank cards using contactless technology – but will also accept coins, or allow payment using bank cards that employ traditional insertion technology. For security reasons, the contactless method only works for payments less than Fr. 40.-. Payments above this amount will still require your PIN code.
125 of the 140 designated machines have already been installed throughout Lausanne, which is the first city in Switzerland to take advantage of this state-of-the-art technology. Similar machines have also been installed in Italy, Poland, UK and France.
Source: http://www.24heures.ch/economie/lausanne-innove-stationnement-carte/story/10595661
For one day only, download the App for free on 1 August, Swiss National Day
Following on from the useful App we mentioned recently for travelers in and out of Geneva airport, we have just received news about another handy little App for anyone traveling through Switzerland.
Called "Switzerland Traveler", the App is ideal for anyone holidaying in the country, or local expats keen to get to know the country a little better, and provides a comprehensive and portable travel guide to covering the most popular and interesting sights, trips, activities, cities and experiences of Switzerland.
Launched on iTunes at the beginning of July, the App and has been produced by local travel writer, Sally O'Brien, in conjunction with an American developer of travel guide applications called Sutro Media (www.sutromedia.com).
Photo courtesy of Bill Abbot, Creative Commons
A handy little app for the smart phone has just been launched that local air travelers should definitely take a look at.
Created as an iOS app for the iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone, Geneva Airport: The Unofficial Guide provides everything you need to know about Geneva Airport in the palm of you hand. There is also an Android version of the app, which can be downloaded by clicking here. With over 100 entries and 330+ photos, it includes essential information on airport access, car hire/rental, airlines, parking, airport shopping and much more - in short, everything you need to know to make travel through Geneva Airport as stress free as possible.
Amongst its many useful features you will find offline maps, dynamic updates, offline mode, search function, favorites and sorting by topic. If you have any questions not answered in the app, there is a comment function so you can contact the app's American author, Jeff Steiner, directly. There is also a web link to some 100+ questions related to Geneva Airport and personally answered by Jeff.
