SION, VALAIS – Police in canton Valais say the capital, Sion, has been hit by a spate of car break-ins, with thieves going after cell phones and computers, or any other items of value. Unlocked trunks or car doors are being opened, but windows have also been smashed and windows left open a crack are used to get into the car.
In separate Sion police news, an officer who was standing in front of a bar Monday 2 April was intentionally hit by a car and injured. The driver swerved into the officer, then left the scene of the accident. The police officer was taken to the hospital for treatment of light injuries and police are seeking information about the driver of a white Seat Leon Cupra car.
13-year high in car sales in Switzerland in 2010
New cars in Switzerland: December 2011 registrations were all-time record
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Automobile Importers Association has come out firmly against Bern’s announcement last week that the autoroute sticker (road tax) price will jump from CHF40 to 100. Its argument, in aligning itself with truckers associations, is that some of the road tax money will be used to finance the country’s rail system starting in 2030, but the group also argues that the federal coffers have a reserve of 1.7 billion for roads and the tax should not be increased until this falls to CHF0.5 billion.
The rationale for the announced increase is to speed up road improvements that are needed as the number of cars on the road grows quickly. The importers association has just published figures showing that the past two years have seen a significant hike in the number of cars imported into Switzerland, which does not have a major car manufacturing company of its own.
The Swiss Automobile Importers Association notes that in 2011 the country imported and sold 318,958 and by comparison in 2010 the figure was 294,239 cars. The 2011 sales show a 10.6 percent increase in the past two years, with a year-on-year increase of 8.4 percent in 2011 alone.
Last year was the first in a decade when more than 300,000 new cars were registered in Switzerland and the only previous years when sales were higher were 1988, 1989 and 1990. December 2011 is the best sales month that the importers association has ever recorded.
The association points out that new Swiss CO2 reduction regulations for cars go into effect in May 2012 and must be applied to all new cars registered as of 1 July 2012. The change aligns Switzerland with European Union regulations. The one exception is cars brough in from abroad that were registered abroad at least six months before they are imported.
Rolle, Lake Geneva, 16 December 2011
GENEVA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Zurich airport is suffering major disruptions due to storms Friday evening 16 December and Geneva airport saw delays during the day, as winter blew into Switzerland with a vengeance.
Valais police are reporting several roads closed due to heavy snow, and the car/train link between Goppenstein and Kandersteg was closed Friday. Trees are down in several parts of Vaud, with one tree hitting three cars in Lausanne.
Joachim is the name of the storm that blasted its way across parts of the Jura and Bern Friday morning, bringing high winds and storms that churned up Lake Neuchatel.
Zurich airport reported some cancelled or delayed flights Friday morning, notably from Nice, London and Amsterdam, all affected by storms. By Friday evening Swiss was sending people to a “bad weather in Europe” page and Zurich airport was showing several flights cancelled or delayed, including Paris and London flights.
Geneva airport, which opened its new visitor center officially 16 December was only lightly touched, with some London flights cancelled and minor delays as the Lake Geneva region was drenched by winds and torrential rains.
The Swiss Institute for snow and avalanche danger has put most of canton Valais on a red alert (level 4) for avalanche danger. Postal cars on the Gampel-Steg and Blatten (Lötschen) line are not running because of the danger of avalanches.
Weather has also closed several regional train lines, including Rochers-de-Naye.
Lake Geneva at Rolle 16 December, looking towards Evian and the French Alps where the clouds are dumping snow
17-year-old on two-night binge had no reason for doing it, he says
Altar burned in village church after car vandalism: youth confesses to drunken spree
SION, SWITZERLAND – A 17-year-old who got drunk and damaged 23 cars one night, then burned the inside of a church in Châble the next told police he didn’t do it for any particular reason. He turned himself in Monday and admitted to the crimes.
Police turned him over to juvenile authorities who are detaining him.
The fire destroyed the altar and caused extensive smoke damage to the church. It was set by the youth the day after he and an old school friend from Fribourg went on a rampage and vandalized 23 cars. The second youth was being sought by police late Monday.
The fire occurred Saturday night 19 November about 23:00. The prayer books inside the church were piled on the altar and then lit.
The vandalism to cars Friday night involved petty damages such as broken side-view mirrors and antennas.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 27-vehicle pileup on the M5 motorway in Somerset, England, has killed an unknown number of people but initial reports list 5 dead, at least 43 injured. The accident occurred at 20:35 Friday 4 November at exit 25 northbound, near Taunton, with the crashes sparking a huge fireball. It appears that six trucks and at least 20 cars were involved in the huge crash.
Heavy rain earlier in the day Friday and patches of fog may have been involved in causing the accident, but police investigations have not yet clarified what caused the huge fireball.
MILAN, ITALY – Sunday 9 October was a car-free day in Milan, designed to get the pollution level, one of Europe’s highest, down to legally acceptable levels. Seventy firefighters and extra police officers ensured that from 08:00 to 18:00 virtually no cars were driven in the city. The city’s safety commissioner said they were also checking cars with stickers for the handicapped, which could be driven, to catch cheaters, according to Corriere della sera newspaper.
The fine is euros 155 for driving on a car-free Sunday.
The ban followed 10 days of restrictions on certain categories of vehicles that were labelled polluters. The system kicks in when the pollution level rises above 50 micrograms of particulates per m3 of air over 12 days
Source: WHO, September 2011
Detractors, including some environmental groups, say the day off does little to bring down levels. Corriere della sera cites one critic who notes that the level has dropped to within legal limits after only on six of the 15 car-free Sundays in recent years, and that the city should invest more in anti-pollution measures for its public transport system.
Milan’s citizens were encouraged to take advantage of free entry Sunday to the city’s swimming pools and discounted entries for several museums, using the additional buses and subway trains that were put on for the day.
The northern Italian city has one of the highest car ownership ratios in the world and ranks as one of Europe’s most polluted cities for both the extent to which pollution rises above the European Union PM10 (particulates) limit of 50 micrograms per m3, and the duration. An Ecopass system to reduce car traffic went into effect in 2008, at which point 98,000 cars reportedly entered the city every day. The number of cars affected by Sunday’s ban three years later was 120,000, according to city officials.
The most recent comparative figures, from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in late September, show Milan, Torino and Naples sharing the top spot, with 2008 annual PM10 figures of 44 or 45 on average. The WHO published its new clean air guidelines and database covering more than 1,000 cities in 91 countries, noting:
“PM10 particles, which are particles of 10 micrometers or less, which can penetrate into the lungs and may enter the bloodstream, can cause heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, and acute lower respiratory infections. The WHO air quality guidelines for PM10 is 20 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) as an annual average, but the data released today shows that average PM10 in some cities has reached up to 300 µg/m3.”
Bern, Geneva and Zurich showed annual averages of 21 to 24, while Rome was 35 and Paris 38, according to WHO figures.
The new Lamborghini dealer in Lugano - Photo Lamborghini
CADENAZZO, SWITZERLAND – Italian luxury automaker Lamborghini has opened its fifth store in Switzerland saying it is another step in its “plan for strengthening the Lamborghini sales network” around the country.
Stephan Winkelman, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, inaugurated the store, run by auto dealer Tarcisio Pasta SA, located in Cadenazzo, near Lugano.
“For us Switzerland is a strategic market as it is within our 10 most important worldwide,” said Winkelman.
The new dealership showroom carries its V10 and V12 product lines, the Gallardo, and its latest Aventador LP 700-4.
The other four Lamborghini showrooms in Switzerland are located in Geneva, Porrentruy, St Gallen and Zurich.
Switzerland had 1.6 percent more cars in 2010 than in 2009, but gasoline consumption was down, in favour of diesel and renewable source products (here: electric car at the Grimsel pass)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland consumed 4.4 percent more energy in 2010, including a 4 percent increase for electricity, says the Swiss Federal Energy Office.
Three main factors contributed to the rise, it notes in a statement issued Tuesday 28 June: continuing population growth, economic growth with industrial consumption up, and colder weather than usual during the 2010-11 winter.
Degree-days of heating were up 12.7 percent compared to 2009. GDP grew 2.6 percent in 2010 compared to a fall of 1.9 percent the previous year. And the population grew 1 percent during the year, with 1.6 percent more vehicle owners.
Electric bikes are getting more sophisticated (Photo, wikipedia)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland is proposing to scrap some of the rules that make importing a car into the country from the European Union relatively expensive. A series of proposed safety and road changes, most of which focus on electric bikes, also covers regulations for importing cars.
Under new rules, cars with EU certificates would not need separate Swiss certification in many cases, although people importing cars will still need to have a garage verify that the car conforms to the certificate, a far less expensive process, and faster. The garage will also be charged with verifying the technical information needed to register the car for Swiss tax purposes.
The federal highway department says 20 May that it is setting out for public consultation until 15 August its proposed changes to road and safety regulations. New rules could go into effect in 2012. Bern’s proposed changes (Fr)
The changes would also add new requirements for chidren’s fixed seats and dusk lights on vehicles being registered for the first time, in line with EU standards.
New rules for electric bikes also open for public consultation
The biggest changes are for electric bikes, to take into consideration major technical improvements.
Electric bikes will fall into three categories under the proposed changed rules:
- Assisted pedaling up to 25kph: will in future be allowed to also have assisted acceleration and deceleration on demand; helmets will continue to be recommended but not required and a bicycle tax license will continue to be adequate. Unassisted speed limited to 6kph and motor maximum of 250 watts.
- Assisted pedaling with maximum speed of 45kph (maximum of 20kph without pedaling: considered the equivalent of electric scooters and will be labeled as such, with numbered cantonal license plates and helmets required; motor maximum 500 watts.
- Assisted pedalint with maximum speed of 45kph (maximum, 30kph without pedaling). Considered equivalent to electric scooters, with numbered cantonal license plates and helmets required; motor maximum 1000 watts, combustion engine no bigger than 50 cm3.
Geneva police chase repeat offender for an hour, into family gardens area on city outskirts
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A 53-year-old Italian living in Yverdon-les-Bains died Wednesday night as police were questioning him over traffic violations, with his death apparently linked to longterm health problems.
Two police officers noticed the man’s car at 21:30 Wednesday because he was driving without lights, the car had no bumpers or license plates. Despite their efforts to pull him over he continued to drive to his home, where they questioned him for 20 minutes and discovered that he did not have a valid drivers license, before he suddenly collapsed.
The two officers tried unsuccessfully for 30 minutes to resuscitate him, joined by an ambulance team and the man’s son, who later confirmed that the police had acted appropriately and had not been aggressive.
Geneva police find stolen car, spend an hour chasing suspected thief
Police in Geneva were led on a high-speed chase Wednesday afternoon by a man who first tried to escape on a motorcycle, then in a car and finally on foot before he was captured while trying to hide in an area of family gardens in
The incident began early in the afternoon when police spotted a black Peugeot with Valais license plates parked in the Montbrillant area. Police had been seeking the stolen car, which was involved in an accident 15 months ago. A man walked towards the car but as police officers approached him he got on a nearby motorcycle and sped off. Police gave up the chase to discourage him from continuing to drive in busy areas, including the Vernier tunnel where he sped between two lanes of traffic. He returned to the Peugeot and drove off in it, chased by police. Once again they lost him, but caught up with him when his car overturned in Aire-la-Ville, here he then tried to hide in the gardens.
The man has several previous traffic offenses.
Woman killed near Founex, cyclist killed, driver caught going 201 kph on Valais autoroute
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The long weekend in most of Switzerland, for Easter holidays, has seen a number of incidents on highways and local roads, including a fatal accident near Coppet, canton Vaud, on the A1 autoroute. A cyclist in Geneva was injured when he was hit by a car on the Rue de Lausanne, and two men were stopped for driving at very high speeds in canton Valais.
Woman killed at 9pm Sunday while walking on autoroute
A woman in her fifties was killed after being hit by a car while walking along the A1 autoroute on the Jura side (direction: Geneva) Sunday night 24 April, for unknown reasons. Police have not released any information about her identity. She was hit near Chavannes-des-Bois, near the Coppet/Founex/Divonnes exit, at 21:00.
Her body was thrown across the autoroute and was subsequently hit by several drivers on the lake side of the road.
The autoroute was closed between Vengeron and Coppet, except for one lane in the direction of Geneva, on the Jura side of the road.
Cyclist killed near Satigny, another cyclist injured on Rue de Lausanne in Geneva – driver flees
A 76-year-old man was killed at a roundabout between Meyrin and Satigny, near Geneva, Saturday afternoon when a 22-year-old driver hit the back of his bike for reasons not yet clear. Police are asking for witnesses to contact them at 0+41 22 427 6450.
A second Geneva accident involving a cyclist occurred late Saturday in the city centre. A driver who was headed in the direction of Versoix left the scene of the accident Saturday night near number 14, Rue de Lausanne in Geneva, after hitting the back of a bicycle that was in the pedestrian crosswalk, at 23:05. The 28-year-old woman cyclist fell from her bike and was injured. Witnesses say the car was a dark station wagon, number plates not identifiable. Police in Geneva are asking for witnesses to phone +41 22 427 6450.
Two young men lose licenses on same stretch of A9, near Fully
Canton Valais Police stopped two drivers within seconds, on the same stretch of A9 autoroute near Fully Sunday 24 April at 14:30. The first, a Portuguese man, age 26, was clocked at 201 kph, heading towards Sion. The second, a 23-year-old man from Valais, was clocked at 174 kpm. The speed limit on the autoroute is 120 kph. Police took their driver’s licenses on the spot and they are being handed over to the cantonal public attorney for prosecution as well as the highway department, which has responsibility for licenses and fines related to speeding.
Half of all drivers fail first attempt at on-the-road test
Some cantons offer theory tests in English, but success rate low
Revised Swiss motorcycle license tests put new emphasis on handling the bike on the road, maneuvers to increase safety
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Lausanne and Neuchatel are once again the toughest places in Switzerland in which to get a driver’s license, 2010 Swiss statistics on the success rates for theory and driving tests show. The figures are published this week by ASA, the Swiss Automobile Association.
English theory test pass rate 17 points below national average
The new figures also show that while the pass rate for theory tests nationwide is 67.4 percent on average, the rate for tests administered in English is 49 percent. The tests are offered in English by only a handful of cantons and are only 0.9 percent of all tests. They are offered in German, French and Italian throughout Switzerland.
This is the first year that the published statistics have also included motorcycle permit pass rates, as part of efforts to reduce the number of serious accidents involving motorcycles. The pass rates vary considerably for the driving test, from 83.6 percent in Bern to 52.6 percent in Zurich. Motorcyclists in Geneva had a pass rate of 68.4 percent while in Vaud it was 54.1 percent.
Motorcycle driving tests were recently improved, according to ASA, in order to put more emphasis on specific maneuvers while driving, to improve safety.
Vaud had Switzerland’s lowest pass rate for car licenses
The pass rate on the category B (cars) driving test also varied widely:
Basel – 66.6%
Bern – 69.5%
Geneva – 65.6%
Neuchatel – 55%
Vaud – 53.1%
Zurich – 60.4%
Traffic in front of the WTO, heading into Geneva: expect delays (photo, Jared Bloch)
Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - People travelling into Geneva by any method can expect to be stopped and handed a questionnaiare between 21 March and mid-April.
Vaud, Geneva and neighbouring France are pooling their efforts to better understand commuters’ and others’ transport needs in the region by organizing a vast survey of current needs.
Three weeks, 30 border crossings, 100,000 questionnaires:
“The questionnaires will be handed out on all of Geneva’s borders to everyone going into Geneva, whether they are on foot, using two wheels, in a car or bus or train, between 06:30 and 20:30,” says Geneva’s Mobility Office, which is coordinating the work with five other government agencies from the region.
“Each area will be covered for just one day,” it notes.
"The girls" are a long tradition that adds glamour to the Geneva Motor Show
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A fact of life seems to be that car shows require beautiful young women, and the Geneva Motor Show is no exception.
Women and cars: the mix looks like it could break an attendance record, with organizers saying the car show had 300,000 visitors by Sunday night 6 March, at the end of its first weekend.
The half-price entry after 16:00 has proven particularly popular.
During the week of International Women’s Day, GenevaLunch asked photographer Mr Kio to turn his lens from cars to women.
He decided to show the people who help sell new car models, rather than just the long legs and other physical attributes that many of the car show photographers focus on when trying to catch the glamour that is part of the show.
"The girls" at the Geneva Motor Show: Mr Kio's portraits in the GenevaLunch 2011 car show album
We’ve just added his new portraits to the Geneva Motor Show 2011 album on GenevaLunch.
Room for improvement: new label will show which shower heads are hot water savers
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Habitat and Jardin, a popular consumer fair in Lausanne opens Saturday 12 March for 8 days, and one of its hottest stands promises to be run by the SuisseEnergie label programme, which is launching a new hot water saver label at the fair.
The label was developed by the federal government, working with retailer Coop’s DIY home shop, Brico Centre and can be used on products that meet newly defined standards for taps, shower heads and water savers.
Hot water accounts for 50 percent of home energy needs
The rationale behind the new label is simple: hot water needs in the past represented a far smaller proportion of household energy, 10 percent in 1970, well behind home heating energy requirements, but today hot water accounts for 50 percent of home energy needs.
Greater efficiency has been achieved in other energy-consuming areas, but the energy used to heat home water has increased.
Switzerland efforts to develop standards for energy-saving labels dates back to 2000, when the “Energy” label was introduced for hot water. Its greatest successes have come with etiquetteEnergie labels for home appliances, introduced in 2002, and later for cars and lightbulbs.
SuisseEnergie will have four sinks and taps on display as well as several shower heads to demonstrate how hot water can be saved using various solutions and systems: stand 110 in halle 1 at the fair.
China’s government ministers will be told they must use their cars for three years longer, to get cut government spending on new cars, Xinhua news agency reports. Ministers are currently allowed to replace their cars after five years, but this will now be extended to eight. The government also plans to impose tighter restrictions: cars should not be allocated to officials below minister or governor level and if they change jobs, their old cars should go with them.
But Xinhua notes that “a survey on the Web news portal www.ifeng.com found 64 percent of respondents believed the new rule will be difficult to implement because it is related to officials’ interests.”
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Get out your maps, or head for your favourite online mapmaker or turn on the GPS because we are hot on the trail of three spies, genuine CIA types, who are hanging out for hours and hours in Geneva, waiting for that magic chance to get a Russian.
It’s the spying game, the real thing, in Geneva: USA versus the Soviet Union, the CIA versus the KGB.
John Le Carré was someone you could follow around town. But in an excerpt on NPR’s web site from The Company We Keep by Robert and Dayna Baer, the spies’ people-watching job in Geneva makes you wish they’d had a more exciting assignment.
The Hilton is clearly today’s Intercontinental, the start of a car chase, from number 14 chemin du Petit-Sacconex.
But the dog walker in a cream-coloured pantsuit Swiss? In this part of Geneva, where the Swiss are a rare breed? Unlikely.
The Russian they’ve waited for night and day for two weeks finally surfaces! He heads east on Route de Ferney, past chemin du sous Bois, then Giuseppe Motta. Down a deserted street, which sounds spooky except that he turns left and it sounds to me like he was just taking a four-block drive to a UN building.
Could the Russian have been trying to lose her? Did he ever know she was a spy? Did Geneva ever know this was going on, while the rest of the city walked its dogs and scrubbed its storefront pavements?
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Vaud police are seeking witnesses to a serious accident that occurred at 08:20 Saturday morning 19 February on the road between Yverdon-les-Bains and Orbe, near the commune of Valeyres-sous-Rances.
A driver, under age 20, and a six-year-old were taken to hospital with serious injuries, with the child in critical condition with multiple fractures, after their car drifted across the road into the left lane, hitting two other cars.
The drivers of the two other cars were hospitalized, but their lives are not in danger, say police.
The driver of the first car, a VW Polo, clipped the left front corner of the oncoming car, whose driver lost control when a rear tire exploded. Her car flipped front over back and went into a field. The VW then hit the car behind hers, head on, a Renaut Kangoo that was sent into a steep bank on the opposite side of the road. The Renaut caught fire. A passing motorist and passenger managed to pull out the young driver of the first car and the child, who was taken by helicopter to the hospital.
The road was closed to traffic until 12:20. Anyone with information useful to the investigation is asked to contact cantonal police at +41 21 644 4444 or to go to the nearest police station.
Police seek witnesses for 2 drivers’ road behaviour
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Police in canton Vaud say a Swiss man from Valais in his early 30s, who was killed Tuesday 15 February in a head-on crash at 17:55, was not wearing a seatbelt.
The accident occurred on the main Puidoux to Forel-Lavaux road, a long uphill stretch that can be busy at rush hour.
The driver of the black Citroen Saxo with Valais plates was overtaking another car despite a solid white line when he crashed into an oncoming car. He was near the Lac de Bret, heading in the direction of Puidoux. He died at the scene of the crash.
The drivers of the two other cars, both of whom live in the region, had slight injuries and were taken to hospital by ambulance. The car being passed, a blue MG, was driven by a Portuguese man in his 20s. The oncoming car was driven by a Canadian woman in her 40s.
Police investigators are seeking witnesses and information about the behaviour of the two men who were driving: they both passed a truck heading uphill about one kilometre before the crash, despite a solid white line on that stretch of road as well.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Vaud police at +41 21 644 4444 or to report to the nearest police station.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Nez Rouge helped 24,000 people make it home safely during the 2009 holiday season after they were unable to drive due to alcohol, drugs and exhaustion.
The group kicks off its volunteer operation for the 2010 holiday season Friday 10 December in most parts of Switzerland and a week later in the rest of the country.
If you can’t drive, don’t: phone Nez Rouge at 0800 802 208.
The group consists of local sections and you can also phone their local numbers directly, so print out the numbers and keep them handy if you plan to party during the holiday season. You can always pick up your car later, as long as you’re alive because you’ve called Nez Rouge.
Geneva – 022 710 27 77: 10 and 12 December, then from 17 December to 31 December
Morges-Lausanne – 021 702 55 10: 10 and 12 December, then from 17 December to 1 January
Eastern Vaud – 021 964 60 68: 10 and 11, 17 and 18, then 23 to 31 December
In France, the night of 31 December only, in Haute-Savoie
Geneva Motor Show 2010: how green it is might depend on where you're driving (photo ©2010 Peter Brodbeck)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A Swiss study commissioned by the Federal Environment Office has concluded that hybrid cars are the greenest in cities and natural gas cars are the best on autoroutes, with both out-performing diesel- and petrol-fuelled cars. The study run by Empa engineers concludes that
“A comparison with gasoline and natural gas fuelled vehicles concludes that hybrid vehicles are the cleanest during inner-city driving whilst natural gas fuelled cars do best on the motorway. When driven in rural areas, both types do equally well. Under mixed conditions (that is real, everyday driving) vehicles based on both concepts offer reductions of up to 25 per cent in CO2 emissions compared to conventional gasoline fuelled automobiles. Hybrid drive systems and natural gas engines therefore represent an important technical measure for reducing CO2 emissions which can be put to use immediately, as do vehicles powered by renewable fuels such as biogas and ethanol derived from waste matter.”
Link: how the tests were carried out, Empa (research arm of EPH, Zurich federal polytechnic institute)
This is not a car exhibit, but rather an exhibit of sculptures made by Dante, a Swiss artist.
It includes a sculpture of the Aston Martin DB5, finished in gold and mounted on a black display plinth. Also joining, a half-scale version of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing owned by Pablo Picasso and hand-finished in white gold.
Location: Kempinskii Hotel, Geneva
Link out: http://www.kempinski.com/en/geneva/Pages/Events…
Start date: 30 Aug 2010
End date: 21 Sep 2010
Three lanes: now two again, for a month, on the A1 near Morges-Lausanne
Morges, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Prepare for summer traffic jams: the A1 autoroute between Morges Ouest (west) and Lausanne is about to undergo surgery that will last until 25 June. The facelift reduces traffic to two lanes in each direction fom 06:00-20:00 and one lane each way during the night.
The A1 has operated far more smoothly since the start of 2010 when months of roadworks were completed, giving it three lanes in each direction during rush hour. The combination of heavy equipment and a colder than usual winter damaged the surface of the existing lanes, however, and these now need to be removed and the roads re-covered. The highway department notes that even when it appears that there are no workers the lanes are closed for a good reason, as it can take several days for the surface to harden fully.
The new roadworks will add to the headaches of travellers between Morges and Villeneuve, given the heavy roadworks scheduled along the A9 between Lausanne and Villeneuve. Long stretches in each direction have been reduced to a single lane.
There is even room for the groceries!
Migros says electric cars will rent for CHF1,200 a month and scooters for CHF150 a month
Update 19:35 Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Migros is no stranger to transport, as one of Switzerland’s main suppliers of petrol, but the country’s largest supermarket is about to start selling us electric parks and a series of services for electric vehicles that will include: a “lively” Internet site, insurance, financing, regular car services and maintenance, advice.
The supermarket chain will kick off the new set of electric vehicle services through a partnership with Alpmobil in the Goms (Conches) Valley, east of Brig in canton Valais. The tourism project will offer visitors 60 electric vehicles supplied by Migrol, the petrol station brand owned by Migros. The cars will be spread around the Goms Valley, available at train stations and hotels, for example, says Alpmobil, which is a tourism planning project covering the San Gottardo region.
“The energy for this project is also coming out of the region and consists of hydro power and in future also increased wind power and PV power. The goal is to reduce the CO2 emissions and respirable dust and last but not least noise reduction,” says project director Dionys Hallenbarter.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The 18-year-old twin brother of the young man shot by a police officer during a high-speed chase is in prison in Fribourg, the court-appointed lawyer has confirmed to Swiss media. The two were in a stolen car, one of three, when they came up against a police roadblock on the A1 autoroute near the Vaud-Fribourg cantonal line. A police officer shot seven times, killing the passenger in the car. The policeman has been held for questioning on possible involuntary manslaughter charges.
The family of the dead man, minus his twin brother, attended funeral services in Lausanne Thursday 22 April and visited the site on the autoroute where he died. The family, of Kurdish origin, lives in France, near Lyons. The two brothers were part of a group that was stealling three luxury cars from a garage in Fribourg.
Background, GenevaLunch
Link to RSR, public radio in French
Car-gazing, sailing on Lake Geneva or skiing this weekend: you choose
We’ll start with some photos, to help the choice
click on images to view larger
Iced-up boat in Versoix near Geneva, 10 March 2010 (photo Peter Brodbeck)
Geneva Motor Show 2010 (image: Mr Kio)
Jura near Geneva, 10 March 2010 (photo: Shirley Curran)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The sun is shining, slopes are gleaming, the ice around the edge of Lake Geneva is melting and the wind has finally died down after a week’s drubbing. Skiing beckons, all the more so with Swiss skier Carlo Janka putting in a spectacular performance in Germany Friday morning, winning the World Cup’s Crystal Globe for the most points all season.
Weather forecast
Pull out your skis, but keep the warm clothes, including that rarity in the Swiss Alps, thermal underwear, handy. Friday and Saturday mostly sunny with highs of 5C on the plain and 7C in canton Valais, -8C at 2,000 metres. Sunday sunny to partly cloudy, temperatures the same.
Good news once you’re off the slopes: it should warm up to 10C Tuesday and 15C Wednesday. Welcome March spring weather!
Alpine resorts
It’s the winding down season, but the slopes are in good shape with recent snow and cold weather keeping it powdery.
Events in Alpine resorts this weekend: Read more…
Tips for visitors
- pick up the official visitors’ guide in English prepared by Illustré magazine, by far the easiest way to find your way around, and well written
- go to the bank beforehand, as there are only two ATMs inside the hall and they tend to be busy; bring change, as there is just one change machine, near the entrance
- wifi: yes, Palexpo has it, but with a pre-paid card for one hour to three days, on sale at door E13
- children, dog and smoking: no smoking inside the building and six designated areas just outside; no dogs except guide dogs; children 2-5 years can be left at the nursery for CHF5/hour for three hours
- click on images below to view larger
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The born-again car industry is hoping to get out of the red by shifting most of us into the green. There are two kinds of cars at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show: those for consumers who care about the environment and their pocketbooks, and those who lust after big hunky gorgeous fast cars. Switzerland’s Illustré magazine, which prepares the official visitor’s guide writes aptly that “there will always be extremists: hardline opponents of he automobile on the one hand, and absolute car fanatics on the other. But increasingly, passion and reason are coming together.”
Quant's four-seater electric car: not all are small
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Several new vehicles debut at the Geneva Motor Show which opens to the public 4 March. Toyota Motor Corporation, which is unveiling new vehicles at the show, apologized to European consumers for its safety issues. Its large display of all-white cars and quotes about working together to create excellent quality products amplified the company’s message.
Among the vehicles that will be unveiled are a BMC Active Hybrid, Ferrari’s first road-going hybrid car, Toyota’s hybrid Auris HSD compact and Lexus CT 200.
Porsche has unveiled its 918 Spyder and American pop artist Justin Timberlake is expected to unveil the Audi A1 today in Geneva.
GenevaLunch will be bringing features directly from the auto show. Stay tuned!
Links to other sites: AP, Independent, UK, TopGear
Toyota is set to announce a series of incentives to win back American car-buyers following a series of product recalls for safety reasons, according to Reuters, which says the programme will be unveiled Tuesday 2 March and run for a month. It includes offering consumers zero percent financing on some new car models and two years of service with few charges for returning customers.
Links to other sites: MSNBC, Toyota USA
Keeping Swiss garages busy: traffic on the A1 autoroute in winter
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Touring Club Suisse has launched new online service, available in French and German, to help you calculate the cost of repairing your car.
The new service also makes it possible to compare what your garage is charging with average rates. TCS has set up the ervice based on its 30 years of experience in the field, with its own figures used for a database. Car owners can search by model and age.
Among its recommendations:
- try to use the same garage regularly
- intervals for car services have become shorter, but if the recommended one for your car is long, you are still responsible for ensuring that oil and water levels, for example, are maintained
- keep in mind that the hourly rate at garages varies from CHF80 to 180 but the average is CHF145 an hour
- overall, calculate that a car driven 15,000 km a year will require between CHF2,000 and 6,000 to service by 180,000 km.
