The Demand for Travel with Bikes May Spike in Switzerland This Summer

The coronavirus crisis has made a great impact on the travel industry around the world and Switzerland is no exception. Instead of traditional pastimes like booking a hotel in Zurich or Geneva and enjoying a posh city holiday, tourists crave more outdoor activities these days. This has led to a sharp increase in traveling with bikes. Some places already report the shortage of capacity and free spaces for bikes on trains.

Last summer, approximately 80,000 Bike Day Passes were sold in July, reaching an increase of 45% compared to 2019. For 2021, additional 15,000 bikes were brought to such popular routes as Bern to Brig and Zurich to Chur. The strong demand in 2021 is higher than supply which is still quite low. Moreover, bicycle traveling is a sustainable and eco-friendly way of exploring Switzerland, and this fact has brought the Swizz Transport and Environment Association together with Pro Velo on board.

Together, the companies want to offer a comfortable reservation infrastructure for tourists. It is also important to think about different categories of customers, for example, families, elderly people, or people with disabilities. The new cycling season starts on 21 March in Switzerland, so local authorities still have some time for the last preparations. The supply of bicycles has already been increased to an all-time high on popular tourist lanes. Besides the Zurich to Chur and Bern to Brig routes mentioned above, extra bicycles will be available on routes to Interlaken, Ticino, and the southern foot of Jura.

To allow tourists to explore Switzerland more efficiently, there will be extra spaces for bicycles on local trains. To prevent situations when all bicycle spaces are taken and tourists are left puzzled and not knowing what to do, all Swiss InterCity trains will have bicycle space reservations that cost CHF 2. Passengers will be able to make reservations in advance and be sure that there will be a space for their bicycle on the train.

Trains with this feature will have a bicycle label. Tourists get a bike ticket for their reservation. It is possible to purchase this bike ticket in a mobile app right before departure or use the traditional counter. International trains in Switzerland will also offer this service but the price may differ. Tourists who plan to travel with their bikes a lot may be interested in purchasing an annual bike pass with 25 reservations worth CHF 50.