[CH] Swiss highways and motorways

[Suburbanist]

Originally Posted by Verso

I thought the busiest road was A1 west of Zürich, not east of it.

A1 east of Zurich is a majot bottleneck and carries traffic that don't have any other feasible alternative.

[Nexis]

[Nexis]

[Fabri88]

Today the Council of States voted for rising up the price of the Vignette from 40,- CHF to 100,- CHF!

Are they bound to sell also monthly or weekly Vignette or there'll be only the 14-months Vignette?

[eeee.]

A year has 12 months. But I guess there will be a cheaper option.

[Road_UK]

I hope for them that they will introduce monthly and weekly ones, because hardly anyone wants to go to Switzerland anymore for their holidays. Too damn expensive, and such a price rise would be the icing on the cake. Even the Swiss themselves are turning their backs on their own mountains, and start spending their vacations right here in Tirol. Loads of Swiss here in Mayrhofen at the moment, most of them from Basel, Zürich, Bern and St Gallen. The Swiss authorities have sold out their country.

[Fabri88]

Originally Posted by eeee.

A year has 12 months. But I guess there will be a cheaper option.

Yes but the Vignette has a 14-months validity, from 1st December 20XX-1 to 31st January 20XX+1!

[Fabri88]

Originally Posted by Road_UK

I hope for them that they will introduce monthly and weekly ones, because hardly anyone wants to go to Switzerland anymore for their holidays. Too damn expensive, and such a price rise would be the icing on the cake. Even the Swiss themselves are turning their backs on their own mountains, and start spending their vacations right here in Tirol. Loads of Swiss here in Mayrhofen at the moment, most of them from Basel, Zürich, Bern and St Gallen. The Swiss authorities have sold out their country.

Exactly! What I mean is the Austrian way (that I really appreciate)!

[cinxxx]

Lol, and I actually though of buying the 40 CHF vignette next time I will be in Switzerland. 100 CHF, not that keen anymore...

[ChrisZwolle]

The high CHF doesn't really help either. Two or three years ago, the Swiss vignette was cheaper back and forth than to cross via Austria. However, nowadays Austria is cheaper. Not that I would let my vacation hang in the balance of these few euros difference, but still.

[eeee.]

To return from my holidays in Slovenia costed me 24.50 € for Austrian tunnels, mountain passes and autobahns. 40 CHF for one year... sorry 14 months... was unbelievable cheap. 100 CHF seems fair to me. For the tourists 40 CHF for two weeks.

I don't think that tolls are a reason not to visit a country. There are still other roads and the country is small. And if you can afford holidays in Switzerland, you just don't care about those 60 CHF.

[Road_UK]

That's what I'm saying. It's not just the tolls, it's everything. That's why a lot if people, including the swiss population avoid Switzerland for holidays.

[ChrisZwolle]

Originally Posted by eeee.

I don't think that tolls are a reason not to visit a country.

The € 140 tolls to get to Sweden and back is a major obstacle for me. I can drive almost 1900 kilometers worth of diesel for that kind of money. It's not that I cannot afford it, but it's not worth it (at least on a frequent basis). In the last 5 years I went to Denmark 3 times but only once I crossed into Sweden because of the high tolls.

[kanterberg]

Originally Posted by eeee.

To return from my holidays in Slovenia costed me 24.50 € for Austrian tunnels, mountain passes and autobahns. 40 CHF for one year... sorry 14 months... was unbelievable cheap. 100 CHF seems fair to me. For the tourists 40 CHF for two weeks.

I don't think that tolls are a reason not to visit a country. There are still other roads and the country is small. And if you can afford holidays in Switzerland, you just don't care about those 60 CHF.

If tolls was a reason not going abroad you wouldn't see any Swedish or Norwegian cars on the continent... 100 CHF for a whole year sounds like a dream come true in comparison with traveling to and from Scandinavia. When driving to France this summer I payed 375SEK (≈ €45) for the bridge between Sweden and Denmark, one way. And then another €90 for the ferry between Denmark (Rødby) and Germany (Puttgarden), one way!. On the way back I opted the cheapest route and took the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark instead of the ferry, but the toll for that bridge is still something like €30 (and at least 120 km longer).

[Fabri88]

Originally Posted by eeee.

To return from my holidays in Slovenia costed me 24.50 € for Austrian tunnels, mountain passes and autobahns. 40 CHF for one year... sorry 14 months... was unbelievable cheap. 100 CHF seems fair to me. For the tourists 40 CHF for two weeks.

I don't think that tolls are a reason not to visit a country. There are still other roads and the country is small. And if you can afford holidays in Switzerland, you just don't care about those 60 CHF.

I'm not talking about holidays in Switzerland, I'm talking about driving through to go to Germany!

A trip from Busto Arsizio (I) to the nearest German municipality (Hohentengen am Hochrhein) ↓↓↓

• With Autobahn (305km - 3h45m): https://maps.google.it/maps?saddr=Bu...3&via=1,2&z=10
• Without Autobahn (317km - 6h11m): https://maps.google.it/maps?saddr=Bu...1&via=1,2&z=11

6 hours to drive through Switzerland!!!

BUT OVERALL...in winter Gotthardpass is closed (as many other alpine passes), so buying a Vignette becomes a compelling thing!!!

[Penn's Woods]

So how much is a Swiss franc these days? (You can tell me in euros :-) )

[eeee.]

It's "fixed" now: 1€ = 1.20 CHF, 1 CHF = 0.83 €

[eeee.]

Originally Posted by Road_UK

It's not just the tolls, it's everything. That's why a lot if people, including the swiss population avoid Switzerland for holidays.

Yes, it's everything but the tolls. I don't spend my holidays here either.

[Attus]

100 francs for a year is pretty cheap. However, 100 francs for a short tourist trip is extremely high. Last time I visited Switherland by car, I only drove 180 km on motorways (Austrian border to Zürich and back, but on the way back I took some detour on non-motorway roads), 40 francs, too, were too much for such a trip, but 100 is crazy.

[Coccodrillo]

Originally Posted by Penn's Woods

So how much is a Swiss franc these days? (You can tell me in euros :-) )

1 CHF = 1 USD = 1 CAD = 1 AUD

In this period curiously all these currencies have a similar value.

To be precise, today 1.00 CHF = 1.03 USD = 1.02 CAD = 0.98 AUD.