More cycling paths are on the way in Vaud
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Canton Vaud’s governing council has earmarked CHF425 million for improvements to the transport system over the next seven years, it said Thursday 12 January. The bulk will go to public transport and road improvements, the rest to improved and increased use of renewable energy.
The money comes from unspent funds that are the result of federal and cantonal redistribution of tax monies and is in addition to some CHF300m from the regular budget.
The projects that will receive financial support earlier than planned include: the Vaud RER (regional public transport) system, top-quality bus service for the Lausanne-Morges area and several regional trains: Lausanne-Echallens-Bercher, BièreApples-Morges, Nyon-St Cergue, Yverdon-Ste Croix. The road improvement monies will go to park and ride (P+R) areas, cycling paths and a number of upgrades.
photo, Jared Bloch
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – International organization employees are being alerted that traffic could be a problem in the area around the United Nations Palais and the World Trade Organization Thursday to Saturday, when the WTO holds a Ministerial meeting at the CICG, the Geneva conference centre.
The area around the centre will be cordoned off and access to the Parking des Nations will be limited.
Staff at UN agencies are being asked to use public transport.
Officially, there are no advisories about possible disturbances, but agencies have been alerted that the police presence will be heavy and flyers are circulating and media are received messages about possible meetings 15 December by a group calling itself “Occupy OMC” at the intersection of Avenue de France and Rue de Varembé and at 20:00 at the Rue des Savoises. Another demonstration is being announced for 17 December in the same area.
Swiss cities’ public transport systems revise their schedules every December, with the changes timed to match new CFF Swiss rail schedules. Geneva’s changes are heavier than usual for 2012 and combined with major renovations at Cornavin station, it’s not always easy to work out times and fares. The TPG public transport system is offering two good options, in addition to its useful web site: if you prefer to ask in person, find one of the TPG associates who walk around stops and stations wearing bright orange jackets or ask at the Plainpalais Circle temporary booth.
From submarine cable laying to the satellite weather instruments, ABB expands R&D
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss power and automation firm ABB announced two new ventures this week. The first is a $5.5 million deal awarded by the Canadian Space Agency for key applications for an instrument designed for meteorological observations on Polar Communications and Weather (PCW) mission satellites.
The R&D contract is for an imaging spectroradiometer, a device designed to measure the wavelengths of individual colors of light. “Currently there are limitations to the short-term weather forecasts, long-term climatological predictions, and other services offered in the high Arctic by existing satellites, particularly with respect to mobile communications for ships, planes and unmanned aerial vehicles,” ABB says in a statement.
“To help improve these services the PCW mission aims to place two satellites into a highly elliptical orbit approximately 39,900 km above the North Pole to provide reliable and continuous communication services and to monitor weather and climate changes throughout the Arctic region.”
The company also announced 23 November an agreement to buy Canadian transport company Envitech Energy “to expand its technology offering in the electrical equipment and solutions sector for rail infrastructure.” The Quebec firm, with 36 employees, is active mainly in urban public transport.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – California’s efforts to extend its planned high-speed rail line from San Francisco to Anaheim won’t have funding from the federal government in 2013, but the High Speed Rail Authority in the state says this won’t have an immediate impact, since the programme assumes no federal funding in 2012. The $8 billion cut from the 2012 federal budget 18 November by a congressional committee is just the first slice of a $61 billion package for California that is part of President Obama’s plans for a national bullet train line, reports KQED in California.
public transport, Geneva
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss public transport systems do more than simply carry more people for less fuel: they also get relatively high ecology marks for their overall impact on the environment.
A study ordered by the federal government, published in German 9 September, shows that while public transport is far ahead of road traffic at the moment in terms of pollution impact, much more needs to be done to ensure it stays well ahead because of the rapid rate of growth predicted for public transport, while cars are seeing improvements.
Public transport systems do well in terms of energy consumption, CO2 and atmospheric pollution but their good marks are lowered slightly by the increase in their traffic volume, higher speeds and their use of tunnels. The noise from trains, despite significant progress in recent years to reduce this, remains a problem.
The study, which also projected the impact of public transport over the next 20 years, has resulted in a decision by the Federal Council to redouble efforts to reduce noise, carbon emissions and to put a greater emphasis on susbtainable development where public transport is concerned.
One rider's bike, from the 15% who cycle to EPFL
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – EPFL, the federal polytechnic institute in Lausanne, is pushing bicycles and will continue to do so until the end of June, in every sense, with its Bike to Work 2011 programme, which kicks off 23 May.
The school wants “to reduce by 10 percent by 2014 the 30 tons of CO₂ emitted daily by commuting vehicles on normal working days” and its previous Bike to Work programmes have made a good start: 15 percent of commutes are currently done on bikes, compared to 11 percent five years ago.
EFPL is registering Bike to Work riding teams until 31 May and will be giving out an electric bike to a winning team. The goal of this year’s programme is to get people used to riding bicycles for work. “To take part, you have to form teams of four people who are prepared to make 50 percent of their journeys to EPFL or to return home by bicycle, during the month of June”, the call for teams says.
The project is part of the larger Swiss Bike to Work programme, where companies register teams by 31 May, and the teams then ride at least part of the way to and from work 1-30 June, preferably combining this with public transport for the non-cycling part of the trip. The national programme has several prizes that include a weekend for two in Hamburg, to bicycles and bike accessories. Details
Zurich's Bahnhof "guardian angel", by Niki de Saint Phalle, might need to help pad travellers pocketbooks in 2012
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Hospital as well as some train fares in Switzerland are expected to rise significantly in 2012, based on preliminary remarks by a Swiss health organization and the CFF rail company Tuesday 3 May.
Santésuisse 3 May announced that it expects to see hospital costs rise by 1.6 percent overall in Switzerland, but with some significant differences around the country: Genevans can expect to pay 4.5 percent more and residents of canton Vaud 1.5 percent more, while Ticino is the rare canton that can expect to see hospitalization cost considerably less, down 7.6 percent.
Cantons will share costs
The change is due to an agreement just reached by the cantons and that goes into effect in January 2012. Hospitals have until now charged based on the cost of services delivered, but they will in future charge a fixed amount for a service, based on calculations of overall services provided throughout the country, with the cost shared and spread by the cantons. The new agreement will share hospitalization charges more equitably across the country.
Track 7, first class, year-round subscription and commune tickets to go up
Geneva's trams will soon have city police surveillance
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Six police officers will begin to cover trams and buses in the city starting in June, according to the print version of Geneva’s newspaper GHI Wednesday 30 March. The number will be increased to 20 by 2012, under an agreement reportedly signed by the TPG transport company and the police department.
The officers, who have the right to make arrests linked to this work, will be armed, but not with guns, and they will carry handcuffs.
The public transport system currently uses private security companies.
Pubic transport in Switzerland is not free, but companies will have trouble, for now, fining cheats
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A Swiss high court has ruled in favour of a Fribourg woman who refused to pay a CHF80-100 fine for taking the bus without having a ticket.
The Swiss parliament will now have to scramble to plug a hole in the federal transport law, which, since a recent change was made, allows transport companies to fine people who have not vaidated their tickets but it overlooks travellers who simply don’t have a valid ticket.
The ATS news agency says the second group is a far larger problem for transport companies, and quotes the public prosecutor in Fribourg, Fabien Gasser, as saying that 150-200 similar cases are sitting in files, waiting for the Federal Tribunal in Lausanne to judge the Fribourg woman’s case.
Some tickets issued by Swiss transport systems have to be punched to validate them, for example 10-trip passes, but most are valid once the ticket is issued. The law specifically mentions those who have not stamped or punched tickets that need validating, but it fails to specifically list those who fraudulently ride trains, buses and trams without paying.
Public transport special offer will run to 15 February
Saleve rises out of the fog: Lake Geneva in winter often sits in a damp blanket of fog that traps fine particles (photo taken 23 January 2010, ©2011 Obwoodman, http://www.flickr.com/photos/86813892@N00/)
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Last week’s too-high level of fine particles in the air around Lake Geneva, higher than allowed by federal legislation, has fallen to within limits, according to canton Vaud.
Geneva and Vaud both issued warnings to residents last week to stay indoors and do fewer sports if they are elderly or susceptible to lung problems. The combination of cold air above and warmer air on the lake combined to trap fine particles in the air, up to about 1,000 metres altitude. The problem is not uncommon in the Lake Geneva region in winter.
Warmer air throughout Switzerland has eased the situation and warm, sunny weather for most of this week should help keep the air clearer.
Vaud offers 3 month half-price CFF card to increase public transport use
Vaud’s Bol d’Air programme will remain in place until 15 February, says the canton: for CHF34 instead of CHF54 the canton’s residents can buy a half-price CFF rail card that is good all trains, boats and postal buses in Switzerland, and it provides reductions on urban transport systems, including the Mobilis regional system. Details and coupon
The programme is designed to encourage people to switch to public transport once an alarm is sounded for unacceptable levels of air pollution.
Geneva Friday offered an explanation, in French, and fine particles levels in neighbouring towns, to put the problem in perspective. The web page is worth bookmarking if you have allergies or lung problems, for future pollution alerts.
It’s only the end of January, midway through a New York winter, and the city of New York has already had more than twice the snow it usually gets during a winter. The 19 inches that fell Wednesday and Thursday broke a record dating back to 1925 for the most snow in January: 36 inches, or more than a metre, and more than 8 inches above the old record.
The northeastern US has been battered this week by heavy snows that have closed airports and schools throughout the region, and not for the first time this winter. Working parents, according to the Boston Globe, are particularly feeling the stress. The continuing heavy snows are causing a variety of problems, with a parking lot roof collapsing in Boston and trapping two men, who were not injured, while in New York some people found their snowplows blocked inside their garages and the city suspended its rule of alternative side of the street parking. State Regent exams were cancelled and schools didn’t open for only the 9th time in 33 years.
Links to other sites: Boston.com, Huffington Post, New York Daily News
Raw video, AP
Pay up or expect steep fines on Swiss public transport, starting mid-2011
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Travelling on Swiss public transport systems starting in June 2011 without a ticket will cost you CHF100 in fines and tickets, an increase of CHF20, the Public Transport Union announced Wednesday 10 November. And travellers who have tickets but “inappropriate” ones, such as second class tickets when travelling in first class, will be fined CHF75, up from CHF60.
The increases are the result of a September Swiss high court decision that backed a woman’s objection to being charged more for having a wrong-class ticket than someone without a ticket. The public transport group accordingly reduced the fines for inappropriate tickets from CHF80 to 60.
With the new fines, wrong-class travellers who are caught will still be charged less than those who are trying to get a free ride or who for other reasons get on trams, trains and buses without a ticket.
The M2 before going underground on its way to Ouchy - Photo Overthemoon in flickr
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The M2, the underground metro system in Lausanne and the only fully driverless in the country, is celebrating its second anniversary with a positive balance sheet.
The success of Lausanne’s M2 Metro is clear, 24 million tickets were sold in the last 12 months which represents an increase of 3 million tickets, compared to its first year in operation. The director of the M2, Michel Joye says the number of users is expected to double in the next fifteen years therefore plans will have to be made to increase the number of existing trains.
For now the only changes will be inside the train themselves. “We are working on expanding the room inside the wagons to give people more space to stand,” said Joye.
The M2 which connects Ouchy and Epalinges, through the Lausanne train station, has become such a popular means of transportation that new lines will be considered in the coming years.
The M2′s 14 stations feature 30-metre platforms with access to the six train-side doors through automatically activated platform edge screen doors. Of the total route length, about 90% of the track is below ground.
Retaining some of the original 12% gradients of the old funicular, Lausanne’s M2 remains the world’s steepest metro.
Ikea’s grand opening, Geneva-Vernier store 15 September, follows years of wrangling
Ikea Vernier Wednesday morning, before the crowds hit the grand opening
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The grand opening breakfast Wednesday morning 15 September at Ikea in Vernier was just the right kind: copious, with a wide selection of choices. Copious because it accompanied, Swiss-style, numerous speakers who all started by naming and thanking individually each dignitary present.
A wide selection because this is, after all, Ikea. And if the blue and yellow everywhere, including of course Ambassador Per Thoeresson’s tie, wasn’t a clue that Ikea is Swedish at heart, the glass of Schnapps at 07:00, at the end of breakfast, was a giveaway.
Sweden's ambassador to Switzerland, Per Thoeresson
“For me, like any Swede, Ikea represents Swedish values, Swedish culture,” Thoeresson told several hundred early morning breakfast guests, who thanked Sweden’s “other ambassador”, the home furnishings giant which has become an institution for foreigners in Switzerland. “It’s no accident that Switzerland was chosen as the first location in Europe outside Sweden. Switzerland is in the middle of Europe, Sweden and Switzerland share many values—including a sense of design, of functionality.” He added that the two countries “have become a little closer” thanks to Ikea.
It wasn’t always clear this would be the case.
This is the eighth Ikea store in Switzerland, but the 10-year battle to open it prompted one Geneva politician to say over breakfast that “Ikea in Geneva at one point meant ‘obstruction’ but today it’s a good example of working together.” The commune of Vernier repeatedly refused to approve the project, saying it needed guarantees the store wasn’t giving: a major concern was the potential for traffic problems. Protestors complained about future pollution and the canton of Geneva and Vernier commune battled over the number of exits from the store.
Burying the hatchet: what Ikea will bring Vernier, Geneva
The commune finally accepted the project in October 2008, after Ikea agreed to numerous conditions, which increased the bill considerably, and construction moved ahead. Final cost: CHF109.4 million, when the attic area is included.
Opening day shows a store that had 7,000 applications for 300 jobs. Eighty percent of those hired are from canton Geneva and 40 percent from Vernier, making Ikea a key employer in the canton with Switzerland’s highest unemployment rate.
The 31,000m2 (attic included) store has a parking lot with 850 places, but it has made a serious effort to discourage shoppers’ use of private cars: it’s easy to reach using bicycle lanes and public transport: buses 6, 19, 23, 28, 57, Y and trams 14 and 16, train Regio R from Cornavin. If you’re buying furniture you can’t put on the bus, you have two relatively green options: home delivery and Mobilité natural gas rental vehicles.
Ikea is expected to bring the commune tax revenues of up to CHF800,000.
Ikea is Ikea is Ikea, but this is Geneva, where living space is at a premium
Inside the store, everything is familiar to anyone who has visited Ikea elsewhere. It is slightly smaller than the store in Aubonne and the line of merchandise is essentially the same, but the Vernier store caters to a slightly different population. “People in Geneva have a bit more money, but smaller living spaces,” one employee told visitors. The kitchen selection is larger and there are numerous clearly marked sections for people with apartments of 25, 35 or 50 square metres: small spaces.
The rare opportunity to see an Ikea store without customers charmed breakfast guests, but at 09:00 as the grand opening drew near the most impressive sight was scores of employees racing to finish shelves-stocking before the doors opened. And only one protestor showed up.
Ikea Vernier web site, with hours
TSR timeline of Ikea political battle, Vernier-Geneva
Ed. note: GenevaLunch will publish a photo gallery of the new store before it opened, late Wednesday. Watch for the update here!
Swiss voters likely to have their say on more public transport funding
Popular initiative for public transport: 140,000 signatures handed to Bern
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss voters will probably have their say about increasing funds for public transport. A group called ATE (Transport and Environment Association) and 20 partner groups Monday 6 September handed in 140,000 signatures, an unusually high number for a popular or citizens’ initiative, that calls for more money to be spent on public transport and less on highways. The signatures were handed to the federal chancellery.
The federal tax on mineral oils is currently cut three ways, with the general federal budget taking a slice. The remainder is divided between highways, with 75 percent, and public transport, which receives 25 percent. The new initiative would redistribute that money: the remainder would be shared 50-50 by roads and public transport.
Bad news: Swiss train prices going up in 2011, but good news: hike is less than expected (photo: Lake Brienz from the train)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) - Public transport costs for consumers will rise by 2.4 percent rather than 3.4 percent in 2011, “Mr Price”, Switzerland’s consumer watchdog, announced Wednesday 4 August.
Lengthy negotiations between the office of Stefan Meierhans and public transport unions succeeded in getting price hikes down.
Another bit of good news for consumers is that the CHF40 day tickets offered by many communes to their residents will remain valid for use before 09:00.
When the 2011 prices were announced earlier this year the CFF rail company had said the communes’ tickets would be valid only after 09:00.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The M1 will close for five weeks, from 12 July to 17 August, for a checkup and repairs, TL, the Lausanne public transport company has confirmed to newspaper 24 Heures. Some 800 metres of rail will be replaced and security rails repaired, with the project covering two summers and costing CHF2.2 million, reports TSR. The M1 system carried 11.2 million passengers in 2009, but its quietest period is in summer, when University of Lausanne and EPFL students use it less. Buses will be used by TL during the time the M1 is closed.
Lake Geneva boats connect France with Vaud and Geneva in Switzerland
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Boat trips on Lake Geneva will go up by 5.5 percent in 2011, the CGN (Compagnie Générale de la Navigation) has announced, with smaller price increases on the Lausanne-Thonon line starting 1 June 2010. The 2011 ticket prices go into effect 12 December 2010, when Swiss public transport companies put new rates into effect. The Swiss federal government ordered public transport companies to delay price hikes in 2009, with the result that in 2010-11 they will be steeper than usual. The CGN says its increase is slightly under the average for Swiss public transport companies.
The CGN distinguishes between its tourist boats and public transport, with plans to develop more public transport in the next few years. The company’s traffic on the lake has grown steadily since 2002: from 1.37 to 1.85 million in 2009.
Dream a little dream of me: Porsche 2010, Geneva Motor Show
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The annual car extravaganza in Geneva gets underway this week, with two days of press viewings of new cars starting Tuesday 2 March, then the Geneva Motor Show opening to the public Thursday 4 March. Here are the basics for first-time visitors:
Where Palexpo, next to the airport, in Geneva
When Starting Thursday 4 March: 10:00-20:00 weekdays and 09:00-19:00 Saturday, Sunday. Closes 14 March.
How to get there By far the best option is the train if you’re from out of town, or public transport if you’re going from Geneva.
Swiss train on a winter Sunday evening: always busy
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland’s CFF rail company will raise prices by 6.4 percent overall 10 December 2010. The recently voted increase in value added tax (TVA) of 0.4 percent is included. The Public Transport Union announced the hikes Thursday 14 January. The amounts of some of the changes come as a surprise, but higher than normal increases have been predicted widely because a year ago the government insisted that increases for 2010 be put off because consumers were hurt by the weak economy.
The half-price CFF card, the most popular discount, will be increased from CHF150 a year to CHF165. It is the first increase for the card since 1993.
Title: Christmas late-night shopping, Geneva and Nyon
Location: Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: Stores stay open until 22:00 Wednesday 23 December and 18:00 Thursday 24 in Geneva. Nyon’s shops stay open until 22:00 Monday 21 December and Wednesday 23, and the town’s public transport is free during those times. Note: Geneva has a special Christmas and New Year’s hotel + shopping offer, starting at CHF104.
Start Date: 2009-12-18
End Date: 2010-01-04
One ticket fits all at Mobilis
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Canton Vaud’s common transportation agreement, Mobilis, which allows passengers to use multiple forms of public transport with a single ticket, is to be extended end 2010, Lausanne newspaper 24 Heures reports 1 December.
Mobilis currently joins five separate transport companies – tl, MBC, CFF, LEB, CarPostal – over almost 870km of railway lines, bus routes and metros. But most of the canton is not covered by the Mobilis agreement. This will change in December 2010 when additional agreements and technical solutions will extend network coverage by almost 80 percent throughout the canton.
Expect more roadworks around Geneva and Lausanne areas
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva and the Lausanne-Morges area are likely to see an improvement in public transport to ease traffic congestion, if new federal funds for to improve traffic go through as planned. The Swiss federal government has told Parliament that it will allocate CHF1.5 billion for co-sponsored (with cantons) projects starting in 2011 to improve traffic in 26 key areas, mainly cities and urban built-up areas. The list of projects includes several in the Lake Geneva region:
Another alternative to city traffic
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The city of Lausanne is proposing alternatives to cars in the city centre. It foresees a city centre as car-free as possible by 2016, with a public transport system of trams and the underground Metro network that opened in late 2008.
The plans are part of the massive Métamorphose urban development project, parts of which were voted on 27 September.
The tram will run from the city centre, Place St. François, to Place Chauderon, on along the route des Plaines du Loup, which is the future site of the ecoquartier, and on to the airport at Blécherette.
Olivier Français, the city official in charge of the project, says that the project is subject to many changes still, but that “we have one objective: that is to provide alternatives to the car”, reports 20Minutes.
No integrated payment system yet for Lake Geneva region public transport
You'll have to buy the new tram line ticket, if you're from Nyon
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Nyon falls between the cracks when it comes to integrated transportation systems, apparently. Mobilis, a canton Vaud transport network with single payment agreements covering several local systems, has plans to extend its network west to Nyon, and to the Riviera, the north of the canton, and Lac du Joux, by the middle of 2010. Yet three-quarters of Nyon’s commuters use the train to get to Geneva, where they cannot use their train ticket for public transport in the city.
Paleo Music Festival, near Nyon, Switzerland, a sea of music-lovers
Montreux, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Lake Geneva region’s musical summer is well underway, good for music-lovers, a bit less so for drivers. If you’re on the road between Geneva and Lausanne in the coming week, check the news for traffic jams around Nyon. Festival-goers are urged to use public transport, made easy for them: the CFF rail company is putting on extra trains and reducing ticket prices. The last train for Geneva leaves at 03:00 and for Lausanne-Montreux at 03:30. Shuttles and extra trains between the Nyon train station and the festival operate at 10-minute intervals.
The festival sold out, all 200,000 tickets, in two hours when sales opened in April. An additional 1,000 tickets a day go on sale online at the festival site, to discourage black market ticket sales.
GenevaLunch will be covering the festival daily, bringing you news and reviews.
Montreux closes on a happy note, offers listeners online treats
Read more…
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The famous Swiss system of consulting widely on political issues is now bringing public transport users – local, regional and national – the chance to have their say in the new schedules for 2010/2011. The “projet d’horaire” web site, in German, French and Italian, provides the current schedules for all transport systems, changes that the transport companies are suggesting, and a form for people to fill out with their own requests.
Geneva's Cointrin Airport
London, England (GenevaLunch) – Second and third place are not so bad, but the coveted first place in the annual Mercer best cities in the world selection was taken by Vienna for 2009 for two simple reasons: housing and “recreation” are better, a Mercer spokeswoman told GenevaLunch Tuesday. The company has received numerous calls from journalists asking if Zurich lost the top slot, which it had in 2008, because of the economic crisis or problems with banking secrecy. Not at all, Mercer insists.
Bern and Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The CFF rail company and the UTP (public transport union) will not raise prices as planned in December 2009 in a nod to the economic crisis, but will delay the hike until December 2010.
