Public Transport In Zurich

Public transport in Zurich is available for four main modes of transport—boat, bus, train and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to Zurich move around the of Switzerland's largest city and beyond. In 2015, over 300 million trips were made annually on public transport in Zurich, a city with a population of around 450,000. This figure excludes the Zurich S-Bahn, which had annual ridership of 208 million in 2023. Zurich Main Station (''Zürich HB''), meanwhile, is the largest and busiest railway station in the country.

Public transport is extremely popular in Zurich, and its inhabitants use it in large numbers. In 2010, a microcensus discovered that 32% of Zurich residents used trams or trolleybuses regularly (of which 60% used at least those two modes), while 26% depended on a personal vehicle. Fewer than half the residents owned a car or a motorcycle. About 70% of the visitors to the city use the tram or bus, and about half of the journeys within the municipality take place on public transport.

The Zurich model approach to public transport is highly regarded. The city has the world's best on-time performance for public transport, with one of the highest frequencies of service. A network of around 4,000 sensors monitors all traffic, to negate potential delays, and sends information to computers programmed to generate algorithms which change signalling around the city accordingly. When any vehicle approaches one of the city's 400 junctions, sensors buried in the road surface recalibrate signal cycles to give priority to the trams and buses. This efficiency means cross-city journeys on public transport can be completed in thirty minutes or less, even when including transfers.

Founded in 1896, Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) is wholly owned by the City of Zurich. It owns and operates buses, trams and the city's Polybahn and Rigiblick funiculars. The entire VBZ network is operated on a proof-of-payment fare system, meaning if passengers do not present a ticket when asked by an inspector, the passenger will be liable for a fine. Fares and fines cover around half of the system's operating and capital costs.

The S-Bahn is operated by Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), not VBZ. ZVV, established in 1990, is the largest public-transport network in Switzerland. All modes of public transport within a chosen number of fare zones can be used freely with a ticket that is valid for a certain amount of time (one hour, 24 hours, 1 month, 1 year). The zones in the canton of Zurich are numbered from 110 to 184 (downtown Zurich is fare zone 110).Zurich city transit map
– ZVV Zones 180 to 184 are those outside the borders of the canton. Passengers purchase a base ticket for particular zones; upgrades and extension tickets are available as supplements.

As part of Zurich's plan to be net-zero by 2040, several upgrades to the public transport network were announced in 2024.

Although in the canton of Zurich, Zurich Airport (''Zürich Flughafen''), is located in Kloten, a municipality around north of Zurich. , it is served by 66 passenger airlines from around the world. A ten-minute train ride brings passengers into Zurich.

Boat

The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (German: ''Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft'' (ZSG)), established in the late 19th century, operates passenger vessels on Lake Zurich and the Limmat river. A member of the ZVV, it runs seventeen passenger ships (two of them—the DS ''Stadt Zurich'' and DS ''Stadt Rapperswil''—being converted paddle steamers from the 1900s), carrying around 1.2 million passengers annually from Bürkliplatz, at the northern end of Lake Zurich, to landing stages on the lake and along the river (as far north as the Swiss National Museum). Other excursions include 90-minute round-trips to Erlenbach and cruises across the lake which can take over four hours.

File:ZSG_-_Stadt_Zürich_IMG_3197.JPG, The DS ''Stadt Zurich'' paddle steamer on Lake Zurich in 2009
File:ZSG - Regula - Quaibrücke 2010-09-20 18-45-40.JPG, Boat operating on Lake Zurich and the river Limmat within the city centre

Bus

Trolleybus

Zurich's trolleybus system was implemented in 1939. , it has six lines and a total route length of . Like the trams and the funicular, the bus system is owned and operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ). The city's original trolleybus, which ran between Bezirksgebäude and Bucheggplatz, is now part of line 32.

The six trolleybus lines are numbered 31, 32, 33, 46, 72 and 83, each with an identifying colour on network maps. , around 54 million people used the buses annually.

, the trolleybus fleet totalled 114 vehicles, of which 83 were articulated and 31 were bi-articulated.

Motorbus

VBZ also operate 59 motor bus lines, carrying around 37 million passengers annually (). The lines can be broken down into urban routes (eighteen lines), district routes (nine local minibus-operated feeder lines within the city) and regional routes (32 lines in the region around the city). Other operators of motor buses in/into the city are AVA, AZZK, PostAuto and VBG. Other operators in the canton of Zurich are VZO and Zimmerbergbus.

The motor bus lines serving stops in the city are , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (a hybrid), , , , 151, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 912 and 916. With the exception of some VBZ lines, motor bus lines appear in the same colour (light blue) on network maps.

Line 94 subsumed into line 61, and in 2020, it was announced that lines 69 and 80 would become electrified around 2025.

Eight fully electric "neighbourhood buses" were ordered from Swiss vehicle manufacturer Carrosserie Hess in 2021, for use on lines 35, 38, 39, 40, 64, 73, 79 and 307. Line 79 was later subsumed into line 75.

In 2022, the purchase of thirteen battery-powered articulated and thirteen bi-articulated buses from Hess was initiated, with planned introduction to the network in 2024. Up to 140 additional vehicles are planned, for use on the expanding electric operation of the network, as well as to replace the aging current fleet.

In 2024, seven routes began a two-year pilot project of using Swiss eBus plus buses. The routes are 35, 38, 39, 40, 42, 64 and 73.

The city also has a nighttime bus network (lines N1–N18, N71, N74–N76, N78, N91) run by motor buses, in addition to the nighttime S-Bahn. Moreover, during the Long Night of Museums in Zurich (), motor buses lines M1–M5 shuttle between participating museums.

Train

The Zurich S-Bahn, and its of track, covers both the entire canton of Zurich and sections of neighbouring cantons, such as Aargau and St. Gallen, and even into southern Germany. The S-Bahn was officially established by ZVV in 1990, but several lines were already in operation.

The railway network is mainly operated by the Swiss Federal Railways, but Zurich is also served by major EuroCity trains from the neighbouring countries and is a destination for both French/Swiss (TGV Lyria) and German (ICE) high-speed trains, as well as by Austrian RailJet.

Unusual for rapid-transit services, the S-Bahn provides first-class commuter travel; about a quarter of seats on each train are first class.

Prior to the construction of the S-Bahn, most Zurich-bound trains terminated at Zurich Main Station (''Zürich HB''). The exception was the lines of the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU), which terminated at Zürich Selnau.

With its thirteen platforms and 26 tracks, Zürich HB, completed in 1871, is the largest and busiest station in Switzerland and is an important railway hub in Europe. As of early 2020, it served around 470,000 passengers and nearly 3,000 trains every day.

There are 27 other railway stations in the municipality of Zurich: Affoltern, , Balgrist, Binz, Brunau, , Friesenberg, Giesshübel, , Hegibachplatz, Kreuzplatz, Leimbach, Manegg, , Rehalp, Saalsporthalle, Schweighof, , , , Stadelhofen (FB), , , , , and . Three of these stations—Stadelhofen, Oerlikon and Hardbrücke—are among the ten busiest railway stations in Switzerland. Another railway station, Letten, has been disused since 1989.

As of 2021, the S-Bahn is composed of 32 lines. 21 of these pass through Zürich HB. Twenty of the routes are operated by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), six by Thurbo, two each by SZU and Südostbahn (SOB) and one each by Aargau Verkehr (AVA) and Forchbahn (FB). Again, each line is identified with a colour. The Forchbahn uses line S18 for its arrivals to and departures from Zürich Stadelhofen FB.

Nighttime services

Between Friday night and Sunday night, ZVV runs nighttime S-Bahn services (designated SN followed by the route number) and nighttime bus services (designated N followed by the line number). Nighttime services operate from 1 o'clock until the early morning hours. The nighttime S-Bahn and bus routes form a network, which is different from the daytime network. Most SN services run hourly. In 2025, it was reported that around 30,000 passengers per night were using the night network. Approximately 80 percent of these were leisure travelers, with the balance being commuters. The numbers were being examined by ZVV to see whether it is viable to introduce a 24/7 schedule. It would also evaluate if it was necessary to extend lines running on weekdays.

As of December 2022, the following nighttime S-Bahn services are active:

Tram

Like the buses and the funicular, Zurich's tram system is owned and operated by VBZ, although the Glattalbahn (owned by Verkehrsbetriebe Glattal (VBG)) and the Limmattalbahn use part of its lines (lines 2 and 20 for the Limmattalbahn; lines 10–12 for VBG). The first trams began operating in 1882, and were horse-drawn.

The trams run on metre-gauge tracks and are powered by overhead lines at 600 V DC. The same system powers the city's trolleybuses. Depending on the locale, tracks are either fully segregated from motor vehicles or they share the road and are separated by traffic signals.

, there are sixteen lines, each with their own identifying colour, serving the city's 185 stations and carrying around 200 million passengers per year. Nine of the lines serve Zürich HB.

As of 2012, the VBZ owns 313 trams. All regular public services are covered by 289 vehicles of two basic classes, with the remainder of the fleet made up of a number of assorted works vehicles, including some used for the cargo tram service and heritage vehicles.

See also

* Federal Office of Transport
* Transport in Switzerland

References

External links

''Implementation of Zürich’s Transit Priority Program''
– Mineta Transportation Institute (October 2001)

''Public Transport in City of Zurich''
– University of Zurich

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