Hi all, The purpose of this message is to raise awareness about SBB’s fining methodology, and to expose such behaviour among this community. A couple of months ago I was given a fine for activating the easy ride 20 seconds too late. Departure time: 15:02 hs, activation time: 15:02. So, within the same minute. I understand the terms and conditions, but in the end, rules and laws must be interpreted and analysed consciously. A plain text cannot consider all possible scenarios. As I got to the train platform I needed to make a decision and had two options: 1- Miss the train. 2- Get on the train and buy a ticket or activate easy ride. i chose option 2, and easyride activation. As you may have realised, the app takes sometimes several seconds to complete the geolocation. But I was finally able to activate it on time (or that’s what I thought). Half an hour later, the controller came and I confidently showed my ticket. She said I activated it too late and gave me a fine. I am not going to elaborate here on how much I tried to explain that she was making a wrong decision, that there is no way someone could conclude I was trying to cheat; nor will I comment on her rudeness and unprofessional attitude. Long story short, I was given a fine for not having a valid ticket. Total amount: 125 CHF (35 CHF for the ticket, 90 CHF for the fine -“surcharge”-). Not to my surprise, and contradictory enough, I received an invoice from SBB for my trip using easy ride, and was charged for it 35 CHF. Therefore, the ticket, as per SBB, was valid. So, as funny and annoying as it sounds, SBB charged me for a valid ticket and -at the same time - gave me a fine that included the ticket fare and the surcharge for “not having a valid ticket”. When I called customer service, they offered me a discount of the surcharge from 90 to 30 CHF, and of course removed the ticket value from it. So, the debt was immediately changed from 125 CHF to 30 CHF. What a nice gesture from SBB, isn’t it? This, and many other cases I’ve known of, tell me that SBB considers fines a profit centre. And while 125, or 30 CHF, might not be too much for one customer. Imagine how much money they make taking money from millions of passengers just because they think they can do it. The majority of the people will pay because they don’t want to spend time arguing, simply don’t want to argue, or because they are afraid of being involved in the bigger problem: “the debtors black list”. Ihave exchanged too many emails with the SBB team and we have not been able to solve the dispute. For me, It’s not about the 30 CHF, which would have actually been 125 CHF had I not called SBB to complain. It’s about fairness, customer abuse avoidance, and differentiating right from wrong. I encourage us to stop this. Because SBB knows that we can’t choose another service provider, they do whatever they want. Those of us who don’t own a car have to use the train. And SBB is the only option. Note: lately, we’ve been experiencing a poor service on a regular basis, with cancellations, delays, missed connections, that make us arrive late to work or home. BUT, SBB gives me a fine because I activated easyride 20 seconds too late. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Kind regards.

Good evening @"JusticeForAll"#p12746 We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please contact Service Center Revenue directly on 0848 00 11 33 or email fahrausweiskontrolle@sbb.ch regarding the fine. I understand your annoyance. Basically, we always recommend buying the ticket before boarding the train (purchase completed when you see the QR code). If you get on the train the minute of the actual departure, search for the trip, go through the purchase process and the train is already leaving, it is effectively too late. Have a nice day, StéphanieB

@"StéphanieB1"#p12762 Hi StéphanieB, thank you for your reply. That’s why I chose to use Easy ride instead. It was faster than buying the ticket. I have already called and exchanged several emails. Unfortunately, they don’t want to understand that the fine does not apply, and that the whole situation is abusive. it should be simple. 1) the geolocation takes several seconds. 2) the controller only checked my ticket 30 mins later. 3) SBB charged me a valid ticket, despite the fine. 4) SBB service is anything but punctual, lately. 5) how much more would I have had to pay, had I purchased the ticket 20 seconds earlier? Zero!!! Best regards.

@"StéphanieB1"#p12762 I think this is effectively what should be called "abusive terms and conditions". SBB is a monopolist so the typical narrative of contractual freedom does not apply, because there is none. In my view, there is no reasonable justification for the terms and conditions to state that a ticket must be bought before entering the train or the schedule departure. This probably made sense many years ago when you could not buy a ticket after entering the train, but in particular with EasyRide this ruling is somewhere between anachronistic or purposefully constructed in bad faith. In the end, the key question should be: 1\. Did somebody activity EasyRide on time to pay the fully appropriate ticket price vs. a lower price by intentionally activating it late, 2\. Did somebody activate EasyRide long enough before an inspection so that there is no obvious motive of avoiding a fine after an inspection was imminent? The current terms and conditions do not follow a reasonable and fair standard. In the particular case of the OP, I do not see any justifiable reason why OP should be fined at all since there was no substantial wrongdoing by OP. Quite the opposite, in this specific case I think one can argue that SBB is exploiting OP's clumsiness in an unfair way. Finally, since SBB is a monopolist, it would only be fair that SBB's customers should have a vote on the terms and conditions similar how it is done e.g. at Migros. If such a standard is upheld in that case, at least one could argue that it is democratically legitimized whereas now it's just one unelected monopolist elite ruling over the people.

Hello @"alpenglow"#p12770 Thank you for your comment. I would like to respond to your post, as there are some incorrect statements in it. Please note that the EasyRide function isn't exclusively used by SBB, it's an industry standard based on Fairtiq, which is used by all Swiss public transport providers, not just SBB. Both EasyRide and Fairtiq technologies are based on the national ticket tariff, which is based on the national public transportation code. However, nobody is forced to use EasyRide if the person does not agree to its G&Ts. It is essential to activate EasyRide at the station of departure. Activating it two minutes too late may result in the passenger paying less than he/she actually rode. Especially in suburban areas, activating it later will register the next station, for example, Zürich Hardbrücke instead of Zürich HB. You mention fairness: it is true that it is imperative for all passengers to possess a valid train ticket at the trains' departure, irrespective of the method of acquiring it - EasyRide is not an exception. This is equitable, as the rule is uniform for all and prevents unnecessary discussions during the ticket verification process. SBB recommends activating EasyRide before entering the train, in order to ensure that the ticket is available upon departure. According to the tariff, the passenger must have activated EasyRide by the time the train leaves Kind regards, Roland

@"RolandP"#p12773 Hi RolandP, unfortunately your argument is a bit besides the point. My main argument is: Independent of EasyRide / Fairtiq, the standard itself that tickets must always be purchased before the scheduled departure is in itself an abusive T&C / tariff condition in such cases where it makes no difference. You mention urban areas such as Zurich as an example, but this again is not really an argument. It is typically verifiable whether Fairtiq was started late in such a way that it makes a difference on the fare vs. in any way where it makes no difference on the fair. The only standard, as I previously explained, should be whether somebody did pay the full fare and whether it was significantly before an inspection (i.e. there was no obvious motive to only pay the fare because an inspection was imminent). Punishing anyone for buying a ticket 2 minutes late as long as it makes no difference in fare price and as long as an inspection only takes place significantly later (e.g. at least 10 minutes later), is not OK, irrespective of whether EasyRide or traditional manual app purchase or whatever alternative form of purchase you could theoretically use. SBB's mantra of: "Oh, but then we would have more discussions about whether a ticket was valid" is insufficient. They are a service company and catching a train just in time, which can result in buying a ticket within 2 minutes after departure not before, is a valid concern of the typical train user and should therefore be a regularly permitted practice. The current T&C is not democratically legitimized in spite of the monopolistic nature of SBB, not in the customers' best interest and is abusive and unfair in certain edge cases as the one from OP. It's the same with errors in your tax declaration: In Germany, Austria and in Switzerland, you can not be punished nor fined for wrongful tax declarations as long as the wrongful declaration does not result in paying less taxes. SBB should follow such a standard, not the anachronistic N-minutes rule which makes no sense in the digital age. SBB's current standard is illegitimate.

@"JusticeForAll"#p12746 It also happen to us, while we are travelling, we are running to catch the train, then we board and activate, it was late but its already activated. then the professional come and charge us a Fine , for activating too late,not to mention that we dont have good service and application might be delayed. Which we are unsure of why its was late i think its very dissapointing, as we are travelling from italy, france and this never happen to us before ( we did late activation before, due to running to a short transfer train) Hopefully they can read this feedback and fix this annoying issue

@"JusticeForAll"#p12746 I thought I should give the community an update on how this situation turned out. SBB put me into the debt collection register. Unfortunately, this is how the system works. I could have gone further with the dispute, but in the meantime I would have remained with a “debt” on my debts report. As we all know, for many things in Switzerland, we need a clear debt ![report.](https://) Therefore, even when I know I am right and that this claim was abusive from SBB side, I had to give up and consider the fine a cost of using the public transport in Switzerland. It is a shame that I had to pay, and that what was 30 CHF at the beginning, ended up being 300 CHF 1,5 years later. I “lost” because the system is setup so that the weak part doesn’t get enough support or representation. In this issue I even involved the Ombudsstelle, who didn’t / couldn’t do anything to protect me as a consumer. As a last resource, because my legal adviser told me it’s not worth initiating legal actions for this amount, I ask SBB one last time. Are you guys committed to delivering a good service? Do you care about your reputation? If so, I ask you to refund the 300 CHF to me, in front of this community. Have integrity. What you did in my case was a theft. In the meantime I keep missing connections due to the poor service offered: trains delayed, connections (train and buses) not waiting enough to allow people to get in. What will you (SBB) do to repair this issue, that I had to pay 300 CHF because I was put into debt collection. Show the community that you care.

We got into the same issue. I was visiting Zurich for a few days. I bought tickets 1 minute after boarding, which was considered a violation by the inspector. As tourists, we couldn't figure out how this system works, but we had to take the train. In my mind, if your rules are so strict, don't sell the tickets after departure. SBB collects the price of the ticket and fines people in addition for not purchasing their product correctly. This is just a pure punishment. I understand when people are caught without a ticket, but when you have a ticket but still get a fine, that's outrageous.

Me too i got fine of 117€ per person. Our flight was delayed to Zürich and we took the next train because we did not made it to the scheduled one. He said our ticket is only valid for one train. Yes it is because was the saver but to charged that amount for each although we actually have a ticket not even just partly fine but with additional and more. That was so unfair and for first time tourists here in Switzerland is also very traumatic. Who and where can we contact for assistance on this matter.

Hello @"Thajiosuz66"#p91579 Supersaver tickets are only valid for the connection chosen upon purchase. This is the string attached, and part of the deal as Supersaver tickets are very discounted, while you give up any flexibility. This is clearly stated when you purchase Supersaver tickets. [upl-image-preview url=https://static.community.sbb.ch/2024-06-11/1718073742-849496-image.png] In the SBB Community, we never do suggest Supersaver tickets when arriving by air, exactly to prevent people from having an invalid ticket when the flight was late. The ticket is no longer valid on another train / connection. If you book a cheap saver air fare, and you arrive late at the airport, you must also purchase a new flight ticket, same with trains here. There is no difference between residents and tourists made during the ticket control. It would not be fair to fine residents, while tourists can simply travel with an invalid ticket. Tourist bonus, yes, but not in cases which were crystal clear, such as the validity of the ticket. Kind regards, Roland

Abusive / unfair fines

Philippe89

Hello RolandP ,

You’re missing the point of Goughivunn71. What he is saying is SBB’s controllers should use a little bit of their brains so a lot of problems could be avoided.

Goughivunn71 is just explaining how a normal person should process their thoughts through a situation. SBB controllers just copy and paste SBB’s rules without taking account of the situation, this is not how a good society should function. If every profession followed SBB’s rule system, we will be doomed. For instance, a surgeon’s job is to cut and sew, voilà. So no matter if the anesthesia is working or not, the surgeon will still cut and still sew, the patient screaming pains in the table is not his problem because his job is to cut and sew! Fortunately this rarely happens because the surgeon takes each situation into account.

Following the rules is not wrong but copy and paste the rules into the reality will just make you like those religious fanatics who are stuck with a book written in stone age where flexibility and innovation have no place.

SBB’s rule is greatly unfair to its customers. Someone activated their easyride 20s too late you fine them 90CHF. But to get 90 CHF from SBB, your train should be late for 60 min and my ticket should cost at least 360 CHF (https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/refunds-compensation/refunds-compensation/compensation-for-delays.html). Do you think your time is worth more than ours?

The design of SBB’s website + machine are confusing people. It’s not crystal clear as you thought. If so, why so many tourists are making mistakes ? While customers shows tolerances towards your late and canceled trains each day on top of their dirtiness, you show them none. Plus you are rude with them, your public’s opinion is already bad (Trustpilot 1.⅘ stars - 2014 reviews - Tripadvisor ⅖ stars - 136 reviews [data from 07.12.2024], + a lot of foreign forums reviewing you negatively). But hey, why should we care about public’s opinion when we have the power right ?

And Goughivunn71 is right, SBB controllers are often on a power trip. I take the train every day and I see that’s very common. I know SBB can’t properly educate their staff even with all the money in Switzerland but it costs nothing to tell them to be polite.

Wish you had a pleasant reading and a good weekend.

Krist

Philippe89 Trustpilot 1.⅘ stars - 2014 reviews - Tripadvisor ⅖ stars - 136 reviews [data from 07.12.2024], + a lot of foreign forums reviewing you negatively

All you need to know about Trustpilot is that Rail Ninja gets 4 stars there…
That the SBB gets such a negative rap there is because SBB is ignoring Trustpilot (not how you will see that the SBB profile is not claimed) which means that they are not paying Trustpilot to have negative reviews removed.

Philippe89

Hello Krist,
Baris91 and his wife were just trying to catch the train late in the night, they are not being dishonest here, they paid for their tickets way before the controller showed up. People are often late and disorganised so this thing happen.
Do you always buy your tickets in advance, ALWAYS? If yes, then great for you. I hope in the future when you are late or made a mistake, people will show you the same amount of tolerance that you are showing toward Baris91 and his wife.
Wish you a pleasant night.

Krist

Philippe89 they paid for their tickets way before the controller showed up.

You need to pay the ticket before you board the train. In other countries you would have to get through a ticket barrier, so you would not have a chance to do what these people did. Arriving last minute in many countries means you miss your train.
In Switzerland we luckily do not yet have those abominations inflicted upon us. But having open stations like we have here only works if the rule “always buy before you board” is strictly enforced.

Philippe89 Do you always buy your tickets in advance, ALWAYS?

Given how easy it is to buy tickets I still do not get why people postpone it ti the last moment. There is always going to be a moment where you have decided to make a trip, and it will not be seconds before departure. I usually buy my ticket at home before I leave the house…

I mean, do you really sometimes find yourself on a train completely unexpected?

Philippe89

Krist
There are lots of cities without those barriers you mentioned, you can board the train and buy the tickets on board so you don’t have to miss the train and still get the ticket on board. We don’t have to wander far to see that example, see our neighbor France, they have that system in a lot of cities ((https://www.ter.sncf.com/nouvelle-aquitaine/services-contacts/ou-acheter-mon-billet) 5th paragraph). For other examples, go Google them, it’s not hard.

Like I said previously, great for you if you always buy them in advance. You are clearly someone who has a lot of time at home. But unlike you, some people who have multiples tasks tend to get distracted easily and forget many things, they only remember it in the last moment. This concept is not new, that’s how human brains function and companies are surfing on that to get profits : last minute gifts, last minute deals, last minute bookings, etc.

Rail Ninja has 3.⅗ stars on trustpilot and 3.9/5 stars on Google [data from 19.12.2024]. The scores are pretty close so I doubt what you said is true. Nevertheless Rail Ninja has 27% of 1 star reviews among those 6076 reviews on trustpilot. In a PR perspective this is bad, around ⅓ of their reviews are negative it means new clients have ⅓ chance to read a bad review. They won’t get new customers easily unless there is no choice. If what you said is true, then Rail Ninja had a bad deal paying them. But still, if they are paying them it means Rail Ninja still reads those reviews unlike SBB who doesn’t care about those (again according to what you said ). So how SBB gonna improve their services and system if they don’t care about those reviews ? Those reviews are SBB’s customers experiences, if SBB don’t care about those reviews it means SBB don’t care about their customers.

Wirroobie87

Hi I’m Shaun

I’m here travelling with work from Australia and have just been fined 100 CHF for not starting the trip as the train left. At no point from downloading the app and taking 4 trips over 2 seperate trips to Switzerland has anyone explained how this app works and what I need to do. This is completely unacceptable and need to explained much better to people that travel to Switzerland from overseas.

I expect a full refund for both the ticket and the fine.

Krist

Why did you not just buy a ticket prior to boarding, as you would have done in Australia?

Danhiel

Hello Philippe89

With your example of TER you forget something. To buy a ticket on board you need staff who sell tickets. Almost all regional trains in Switzerland are unstaffed and It’s been like this for years. Everyone knows you need a ticket before boarding.

I can understand that new residents or tourists don’t know that, but sorry, If I travel in a foreign country I study the valid rules, it is not a problem to find such informations in Internet. Evaluation platforms may be useful to choose a good restaurant, but not to travel by train. For me a train will always be better as a long distance bus or a plane.

Kind Regards
Danhiel

Krist

Philippe89 There are lots of cities without those barriers you mentioned, you can board the train and buy the tickets on board so you don’t have to miss the train and still get the ticket on board. We don’t have to wander far to see that example, see our neighbor France, they have that system in a lot of cities ((https://www.ter.sncf.com/nouvelle-aquitaine/services-contacts/ou-acheter-mon-billet) 5th paragraph). For other examples, go Google them, it’s not hard.

The first sentence on that page reads:

“Avant de monter dans le train, vous devez être muni d’un titre de transport valable et composté ou validé.”

So the rule is there exactly the same as in Switzerland…

Buying a ticket on board is only possible if you board at certain stations. Stations where there is no ticket office or ticket vending machine. France still has stations like that, where only a handful of trains call each day, with zero infrastructure. Switzerland does not have lines with such a dismal service. Be happy about that.

Philippe89 Like I said previously, great for you if you always buy them in advance. You are clearly someone who has a lot of time at home. But unlike you, some people who have multiples tasks tend to get distracted easily and forget many things, they only remember it in the last moment.

It used to be that you only could buy tickets at manned ticket offices. So that meant queuing up. For longer trips we went to a travel agent. (I am old enough to remember that).
SBB has made it very, very easy to buy tickets via different channels. So easy that a lot of people think that they can get away with buying tickets at the last moment. Or just after the train left. Of only when they see a conductor entering the train car…

So I can understand that SBB, like very other railway in Europe is being strict here. There will always be a moment where you make the decision to travel. And it will not be on the steps of the train. What is wrong with buying that ticket as soon as you know you will travel?

Philippe89 Those reviews are SBB’s customers experiences, if SBB don’t care about those reviews it means SBB don’t care about their customers.

A lot of those reviews are note by SBB customers. There is no verification that the person writing them has actually travelled by train. Anyone can write a review. The reviews don’t even have to make sense (and many don’t). That SBB doesn’t care about being blackmailed by Trustpilot reflects well on them in fact.

Philippe89

Krist

The first sentence on that page is the ideal situation. Everyone can’t be in an ideal situation everyday. That’s why SNCF tailors their services. You can buy tickets online, on the machines, at the offices and on board.
“Avec le Service+, Il est possible d’acheter des billets TER auprès de l’agent de bord sur certaines lignes et dans certaines gares.”

Krist A lot of those reviews are note by SBB customers. There is no verification that the person writing them has actually travelled by train. Anyone can write a review. The reviews don’t even have to make sense (and many don’t). That SBB doesn’t care about being blackmailed by Trustpilot reflects well on them in fact.

First you don’t know what blackmail means, so here you go:

noun
the action, treated as a criminal offence, of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.

verb
demand money or another benefit from (someone) in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.

Definition proposed by Oxford Languages (https://www.google.com/search?q=blackmail+definition+&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=1016bfdc9707f9f9&biw=1536&bih=863&sxsrf=ADLYWILytZYszGWVIBaJWX7CoTciRsi3CA%3A1734987431495&ei=p85pZ6LzHemxi-gPiLra-Qc&ved=0ahUKEwji4qzs476KAxXp2AIHHQidNn8Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=blackmail+definition+&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFWJsYWNrbWFpbCBkZWZpbml0aW9uIDIEECMYJzIIEAAYgAQYywEyCBAAGIAEGMsBMggQABiABBjLATIIEAAYgAQYywEyCBAAGIAEGMsBMggQABiABBjLATIIEAAYgAQYywEyCBAAGIAEGMsBMggQABiABBjLAUj8BFCdA1idA3ABeAGQAQCYAXqgAXqqAQMwLjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgKgAqIBwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR5gDAIgGAZAGCJIHAzEuMaAHuwc&sclient=gws-wiz-serp)
Reviews in Trustpilot are not doing that. Going through the customers service is the way to go in that case and not going on Trustpilot where everyone can see their reviews.

Second, there are 1.32 million passengers daily on average in 2023 (https://reporting.sbb.ch/en/home?sv_lang=3&sv_lang_change=true). That’s more than 2000 peoples using SBB daily, so 2000 reviews by SBB passengers in the course of the last 3 years are very plausible.

Third, target fake reviews are often written by competing companies to put off one specific company, therefore customers will stop going to that one company and go to the others. But SBB has no national competitor in terms of trains. If one person wants to travel by train within Switzerland, he/she has to go through SBB, so what you say doesn’t make sense.

Krist

Philippe89 The first sentence on that page is the ideal situation. Everyone can’t be in an ideal situation everyday. That’s why SNCF tailors their services. You can buy tickets online, on the machines, at the offices and on board.
“Avec le Service+, Il est possible d’acheter des billets TER auprès de l’agent de bord sur certaines lignes et dans certaines gares.”

And my argument, which you completely ignore, is that this is 100% exactly the same as with SBB. You can buy tickets online, at the machines, at ticket offices, and in certain limited exceptions, on board…

You really have to no argument here. SNCF does 100% what SBB does here. It is just that SBB has no stations with SNCF level of disservice.
There are stations that have only 3 trains per day in France. SNCF doesn’t even bother keeping the lights on at those places, let alone place a ticket vending machine. But at least you can buy a ticket on board. That is “service+” allright…

Is that the kind of railway you would like to have in Switzerland?

Regarding those reviews? Have you read some of them?
Some are not even complaints about the SBB. And there are people complaining that SBB runs to many trains, and that it is too efficient…

Philippe89

I didn’t say the opposite, look above I said people can buy tickets online, on the machine, at the ticket offices and on board for SNCF. I didn’t say SBB doesn’t offer the possibility to people to buy tickets online, on the machine or at the ticket offices. My point is SNCF offers more options to buy tickets.

I didn’t say SNCF’s trains are punctual nor clean nor modern if I should pick a example from those criteria, I would have picked a better example like Japan. I said SNCF offers more options to buy tickets.

Well, if you insist on the “disservice” you are talking about, we are not that far, it will happen sooner than expected. SBB are closing years after years ticket offices, we had 262 ticket offices in 2005, in 2024 there is only 121 left and this year 2025 they will close some again. Closing some train stations is on the table, it’s not done yet, but as soon as the number drops or some budget needs to be cut or some over-budget happens, they will put the plan into execution. And the disservice you are talking about is on its way.

Krist Regarding those reviews? Have you read some of them?
Some are not even complaints about the SBB. And there are people complaining that SBB runs to many trains, and that it is too efficient…

That’s the question I should be asking you. There are 96 pages of comments in trustpilot (data on 08.01.2025), I search them all, where are those people who complained about SBB being too efficient or there are too many trains for them?
And of course some are not complainting, it’s a reviews website, there are some good reviews and some bad but here the majority is bad.

RedBaron

Philippe89
Trustpilot is a somewhat reliable source of information only for small “unknown” companies or webshops. With well-known big companies or organizations such as Microsoft, Apple or SBB (all rated 1 star by the majority), it will be simply abused by trolls and haters with an agenda, the same people who also will write negative comments under online newspaper articles every time something is published about those organizations. Just have a look at the comments today because of the current Aarau-Olten interruption.

This morning, I had a normal, uneventful ride to work which was on time. Now why should I bother with a positive review on Trustpilot, Google (Reviews) or write some social media “tweet” just because of that? So do 99.999% of all other fellow passengers.

Krist

Philippe89 I didn’t say the opposite, look above I said people can buy tickets online, on the machine, at the ticket offices and on board for SNCF. I didn’t say SBB doesn’t offer the possibility to people to buy tickets online, on the machine or at the ticket offices. My point is SNCF offers more options to buy tickets.

OK. I will make it simple. Spot the difference:

SNCF: You may buy your tickets on line, on the app, at the station, from a ticket machine, and in certain limited cases from the conductor.

SBB: You may buy your tickets on line, on the app, at the station, from a ticket machine, and in certain limited cases from the conductor.

I do not see SNCF offering more options.

And yes, SBB is closing ticket offices. But what is a better service? A station with one train per day, but with a ticket office, or a station with one train every half an hour, and no ticket office…

Regarding those trustpilot reviews:

Here is one by a person complaining that you have to pay extra when you sit in1st class, and that they to change trains…

https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/677403bec6888a6cedac1fa1

A lot of complaints are even about services that are not operated by SBB, as for example the night train to Basel, or the BOB (which is btw one of the most reliable railways in Switzerland) or busses.
Or they complain that there is no information about stops on the ticket (why should there be?)

Not, trustpilot is plain useless in this case. It is full with angry posts by people with an axe to grind.

And yes, it has become typical for people to postpone buying their ticket to the very last moment, not that buying those on your phone has become so easy. And then people complain. Maybe SBB should change their system, and require that tickets are bought the latest 10 minutes before departure (like most other railways). Would prevent a lot of issues…

Philippe89

Krist

SBB is very clear about buying tickets on trains ; you can’t and they won’t sell you tickets on trains.

“Tickets are not sold aboard the train.”
https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/my-travelcards/travel-without-valid-ticket.html
Can you clarify in what situations we can buy tickets on trains and where did you get those information ?

Krist And yes, SBB is closing ticket offices. But what is a better service? A station with one train per day, but with a ticket office, or a station with one train every half an hour, and no ticket office…

If we follow your logic then when SBB really close down some train stations you gonna say “closed train stations are still better than one train per day, at least there is no hope”.

Krist Here is one by a person complaining that you have to pay extra when you sit in1st class, and that they to change trains…

https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/677403bec6888a6cedac1fa1

I read the review you linked and how is that person complaining about SBB being too efficient or there are too many trains for him like you said before ?
This person is saying he is being fined because he got into the wrong class and he had to switch trains to get to his destination because maybe there is no direct train to his final destination or the train stop in the middle of its journey and he had to switch trains

Customers can be angry for many reasons like for examples : they had bad experiences with SBB or staff are sometimes rude to them or they got a bad service for the price they paid for. Some are explaining it clearly on trustpilot.

You are saying that trustpilot is useless because the rating doesn’t stick to your opinion of SBB. But if in trustpilot SBB has 4.9999/5 you are going to say trustpilot is very useful and full of constructive reviews for that company.

Krist

Philippe89 But if in trustpilot SBB has 4.9999/5 you are going to say trustpilot is very useful and full of constructive reviews for that company.

No. Trustpilot is rubbish. For example, Rail Ninja gets very good ratings. And they are scamming people…

Back to your original complaint: The Swiss Tariff allows you to buy a ticket on board if you board the train at a station where it is not possible to buy a ticket. And I will repeat that this is pretty much what every railway in Europe does. Including the example (SNCF) you point at.

The Tariff is btw. not set by SBB, but by the “Alliance Swiss Pass”.

I actually live at one of the few stations in Switzerland where you cannot buy a ticket. So I have experience there. The main difference between Switzerland and France is that the number of stations where it is impossible to buy a ticket is much larger in France…

Philippe89

Krist Krist

Rail Ninja has a rating of 3.⅗ to this day, it’s average. Even you say Rail Ninja has a very good rating on trustpilot, 30% people in there do point out they don’t have a good experience with Rail Ninja.

Krist The Swiss Tariff allows you to buy a ticket on board if you board the train at a station where it is not possible to buy a ticket.

The information you provided cannot be verified. I checked and all I can find it’s : you can’t buy tickets on the train.

Section : Why can I no longer buy tickets on the train?
Market research has shown that service is of course important to customers – but that ticket sales is not at the top of their wish list. What is at the top of the list, however, is the purchase of class upgrades and changes of route. These services will therefore continue to be available on long-distance trains .
https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/my-travelcards/travel-without-valid-ticket.html

SBB has been closing ticket counters at many stations, and has also eliminated the possibility of buying tickets directly from train conductors.
https://www.thelocal.ch/20231219/can-you-buy-tickets-after-boarding-trains-in-switzerland

Not saying what you said is true or false, I can’t check it so I can’t say it’s true or not.

Whiennauwai55

This also happened to me. I received a fine for having bought the ticket 1 minute and 36 seconds after the train departed. Except that the train was actually a bit late, so it was even less than that. The controller arrived 20 minutes after and showed absolutely no flexibility, taking into account that I basically bought it at the same time of departure. Taking into account that I travel with CFF weekly, since basically 12 years, and have never even asked for a single refund in case of delay, I find this fine unfair and completely without purpose. Even more that the controller took 30 minutes to control a single couch, giving fines to people who actually had the ticket, and did not even have time to control people who actually did not buy the ticket or tried to cheat the system. This is such a disservice from CFF, especially in terms of customer care and being customer oriented.

Krist

Why didn’t you buy the ticket before departure? There is no reason to wait till the last moment to buy a ticket.

The problem is that a lot of people do indeed try to cheat the system, and allowing passengers to buy tickets after departure would enable a lot of cheating.

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