SBB must change the policy on e-tickets

alpenglow

Hi community, I just read that SBB charges 30 CHF if your mobile phone’s battery is dead and you can’t immediately show your ticket even though you previously purchased one (which can be verified later at least if you are not using EasyRide).

In this case reported here by 20 mins, a man was charged 30 CHF for admin efforts because he could only show his ticket later. The man also demands to go to prison (for a night?) in order not to pay the fine. I totally agree with this man.
There is too much self-justice involved with SBB. They make the rules and there is no referendum or anything on the SBB’s rules. SBB’s trains are a bit often delayed these days and there is no compensation. But when an innocent user first needs to recharge his phone to be able to show a ticket, they have to pay 30 CHF? I think we should not tolerate this behavior from SBB!

Here is the story: https://www.20min.ch/story/leerer-handy-akku-30-franken-gebuehren-bei-der-sbb-•••••••••••••

RolandP

Hello alpenglow

Thank you for your comment. I would like to shed a light on the topic from a different angle:

When you use the e-tickets, you agree to the tariff T600, which is part of the national public transport code, and in which it is stated that one must be able to present the e-ticket upon ticket inspection. If you do not want to agree with this policy, you can still purchase alternative tickets in paper form, for example from the machine or at the railway travel office. This rule is, by the way, not an SBB specific rule, it is valid for all public transportation companies.

The fee is justified as there are many manual steps and extra effort involved: the ticket inspector has to issue a form, the agent at the travel office has to verify the ticket at a later stage. Nowadays, a phone without battery shouldn’t happen as there are power sockets in almost all trains available.

Please consider, if there wasn’t a fee, nobody would show a ticket. As an example, when you drive a car, you are also obliged to have your driver licence with you; if you fail to do so upon a check by the police, you will pay a fine, although the police could simply query the driver’s database to know if you hold a driver licence.

Kind regards,
Roland

Doiheshea54

RolandP
The same thing happened to me two months ago, and I find this fee completely unjustified. If I purchase a ticket via the SBB app, which in my case is linked to my SwissPass, a ticket inspector should be able to verify this easily—even if my mobile device runs out of battery. What is the purpose of this “great app” or the SwissPass if you cannot confirm whether a customer has purchased a ticket?

As far as I know, in the canton of Zurich, the fine for not carrying a driving license during a traffic check is CHF 20. (https://www.blick.ch/auto/service/tcs-ratgeber-warum-muss-ich-meinen-fahrausweis-dabei-haben-id16346605.html) However, SBB charges CHF 30! This seems like a money-making scheme by SBB rather than an effort to enhance customer experience. If there are many manual steps and extra effort involved, it indicates that the process needs significant improvement.

The ticket inspector also has to issue a form if I have forgotten my annual travelcard or paper ticket. However, the fee is only CHF 5, which would be acceptable.

RolandP

Hello Doiheshea54

First of all, welcome to the SBB Community.

Thanks for your point of view. Please keep in mind, this is not the SBB Customer Service, this is the SBB Community run by volunteering travel experts.

Without becoming too technical: due to technical limitations, for the time being, it is not possible to verify an e-ticket by the simple presentation of the SwissPass. This may change in the future, there is currently a trial phase for some ZVV tickets. It is not yet possible for any other e-ticket type.

When you purchase an e-ticket, your accept its GTCs:

I as the ticket inspector would need the ticket ID in order to verify your ticket which you obviously do not have (or do know by heart) if you can’t present your e-ticket. Yes, in this event I have to register your personal details which takes me a few minutes. In a second step, the existance of the ticket is manually verified at the Servicecenter Einnahmen. Again, a human has to open the case, understand the case, search manually for the ticket that

is matching the personal details and,
was valid at the time of the ticket check.

This takes another 20 minutes, all this for a fee of CHF 30. I was indeed wondering about the labour cost per hour in your job. Nobody works for free nowadays. You cannot compare the case with the police whose services are primarily financed by the state. Another example? Have you ever needed an excerpt from the debt register? A simple hardcopy done in two minutes costs CHF 20 in my canton.

The CHF 5 for the GA is another case. This is a symbolic expense to be paid by long-term customers. It does definitely not cover the effort.

I do not find the fee to be too high, to be honest. The fee has not changed ever since (10+ years).
If it was less, no one would have a reason to bring their e-tickets and rather ask the ticket inspector to verify the ticket. I as a ticket inspector would definitely not be able to check the tickets of hundred of passengers in one train.

Kindly keep in mind, the CHF 30 is to be paid no matter what public transit company you are using; SBB is one of 200 companies. The fee is part of the national tariff that applies for all public transport companies. If you are unhappy with it, you may contact Alliance SwissPass, the tariff organisation.
https://www.allianceswisspass.ch/de/Start

Kind regards,
Roland