Travel discounts for passengers with a disability.
For discounted travel on public transport, there is a Companion Travelcard and the discounted GA Travelcard.
Because of a disability, you are entitled to a discounted GA Travelcard for 1st or 2nd class travel. The GA Travelcard for passengers with disabilities comes on the SwissPass. You can order it using the PDF form or purchase it at any point of sale for public transport.
Documents required for purchasing:
All documents required for the purchase of a GA Travelcard for Disabled Persons can be found on the SwissPass page.
The Companion Travelcard lets the holder take a companion or a guide dog/assistance dog (or both) for free when travelling on the routes of transport companies participating in the Half Fare Travelcard.
As of 1 January 2023, the green paper Companion Travelcard is no longer valid for travel on public transport. To continue to get on the move for free, please now show the Companion Travelcard on your Swiss Pass.
You can apply for the Companion Travelcard if:
You are dependent on a wheelchair, have restricted mobility, are blind, have a visual impairment or an intellectual disability.
You need a companion to use public transport.
You are permanently resident in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
You can present a corresponding medical certificate.
You must meet all the criteria.
Where can I get the Companion Travelcard?
Full information on the Companion Travelcard on the SwissPass is available on the new page.
If you have any questions, please contact the SBB Contact Center Handicap.
With the identity card, you have the following travel options:
Take a companion with you free of charge in Switzerland.
Take a guide dog or an assistance dog with you free of charge in Switzerland.
Take a companion and a guide dog or an assistance dog with you free of charge in Switzerland.
Take a companion or a guide dog with you on international journeys. If a transport company uses market prices, the international fare does not apply. Prices and discounts are set directly by that transport company.
Conditions:
Disabled passengers aged 6 or older can apply for the Companion Travelcard.
The companion and the person being accompanied cannot both travel free of charge. At least one person must hold a valid ticket or travelcard.
Your companion must travel with you in the same coach and class.
Your companion must accompany you along the entire route and be able to assist you.
Show the train crew the Companion Travelcard and a valid ticket (either yours or that of your companion).
There are two ways of travelling with a Companion Travelcard:
The person with a disability holds a Companion Travelcard and a valid ticket; the companion travels free of charge.
The companion holds a valid ticket; the disabled person with the Companion Card travels free of charge.
Can the travel discount for passengers with a disability be combined with other travel discounts?
The travel discount for passengers with a disability can be used with the discount for families. However, at least one ticket for travel is required (no free travel for all passengers).
Further discounts for passengers (e.g. Junior or Children's Co-Travelcard) apply exclusively in combination with a valid ticket. It is never possible for all passengers to travel free of charge.
Travel with identification documents not issued in Switzerland.
Unfortunately, you cannot claim any discounts when purchasing tickets in Switzerland if you have an identification document for passengers with disabilities that was not issued in Switzerland.
Discounts with the Companion Travelcard.
The Companion Travelcard lets the holder take a companion or a guide dog/assistance dog (or both) for free when travelling on the routes of transport companies participating in the Half Fare Travelcard.
In certain trains/countries, you can also take a companion or a guide dog with you free of charge in the same class. You can find out more information and obtain the ticket you need by calling the SBB Contact Center on 0848 44 66 88 (0.08/min.) or by visiting an SBB counter.
Longer advance sales periods for journeys to and via Germany.
From 18 November 2025 until the end of June 2026 (expected), longer advance sales periods for the purchase of reservations for passengers who use wheelchairs and/or tickets for companions will apply to journeys from Switzerland to Germany, as well as to journeys from Switzerland and via Germany to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
Some transport companies abroad use market prices. No discount is given on these services. Information is available from the SBB Contact Center or at an SBB ticket counter.
In other countries, the Swiss identity card is not recognised for buying tickets. You must therefore purchase your cross-border tickets in Switzerland.
For assistance, please contact the Contact Center Handicap 24 hours in advance.
Discounts for passengers with restricted mobility from abroad.
An entitlement card issued abroad will not entitle you to any discounts when purchasing tickets in Switzerland.
However, all international tickets for people who are blind, have visual impairments or use a wheelchair that have been issued in the country of origin on the basis of the relevant entitlement card will be recognised. For international travel between Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland, there is no restriction on the type of disability. If you have a foreign disabled passenger’s ID card, it is worthwhile purchasing your tickets in your country of origin. This enables you to take advantage on international routes of the discounts available in association with your disability ID card.
Assistance dogs and working dogs can be transported on trains free of charge both in 1st and 2nd class. No surcharges are paid for trains/coaches that are subject to surcharges.
Preconditions for making use of the tariff facility.
The person accompanied by the assistance or working dog must hold a valid ticket.
The person accompanied by the dog must hold the Pass for Working Dogs.
The benefit is referenced as the free Pass for Working Dogs on the SwissPass of the dog owner/companion. The Pass for Working Dogs is personal and not transferable.
The assistance dog or working dog must wear a special tag on its collar.
Guide dogs must wear a harness provided by a training institution, as well as a special tag on its collar.
The valid ticket and the Pass for Working Dogs must be presented during the ticket check.
Once they are trained, assistance dogs and guide dogs can travel using the Companion Travelcard provided the companion has the appropriate medical certificate.
The following dogs are eligible for the Pass for Working Dogs:
assistance dogs in training: guide dogs, mobility support dogs, diabetes and epilepsy alert dogs, hearing dogs etc.
working dogs: service dogs, search dogs, rescue dogs, avalanche and disaster dogs.
Guard dogs, cattle dogs, hunting dogs and therapy dogs are explicitly excluded.
Where is the Pass for Working Dogs available?
The Pass for Working Dogs is available at staffed public transport points of sale. It is issued on the SwissPass, valid for one year and not automatically renewed.
The Pass for Working Dogs is valid within the Half Fare Travelcard area of validity (T654).
Assistance dogs in the dining car.
Assistance dogs are permitted in the dining car and bistro as long as they are clearly marked as such with the official identification tag. Dogs must be identified with a coat (harness) from the training institution and a tag on their collar. The dog owner must show the service staff the Pass for Working Dogs or the Companion Travelcard upon request.
Members of the following organisations can obtain a Pass for Working Dogs:
Guide dogs.
Foundation Swiss School for Guide Dogs for the Blind Allschwil.
Stiftung Ostschweizerische Blindenführhundeschule (OBS) (Eastern Switzerland School for Guide Dogs Foundation).
Verein für Blindenhunde und Mobilitätshilfen (Association for Guide Dogs and Mobility Support).
Fondation romande pour chiens guides d’aveugles (Western Switzerland School for Guide Dogs Foundation).
Assistance dogs.
Farah Dogs.
SwissHelpDogs.
Simpera.
Le Copain.
Fondation Arthanis.
Paws & You.
Medical Flair.
Verein Assistenzhundezentrum Schweiz (VAHZS).
Search dogs, avalanche dogs, rescue and disaster dogs.
Schweizerischer Verein für Katastrophenhunde REDOG (Swiss Association for Rescue Dogs)
Kantonale Walliser Rettungsorganisation KWRO (Canton of Valais Rescue Organisation).
Service dogs.
Police.
Military.
Customs office.
If you rely on orthopaedic mobility assistance in your day-to-day life, you will receive a free mobility aid bike pass from 1 May 2025. This means you can take your mobility aid with you free of charge on public transport.
Definition of ‘orthopaedic mobility aid’.
Mobility aids include, for example, tricycles, recumbent bicycles, adult balance bikes, handcycles and similar vehicles.
Tricycles and recumbent bikes are considered special bikes and are excluded from carriage by some transport companies. When travelling with SBB, special bikes are only permitted on the train categories RegioExpress (RE), regional train (R) and S-Bahn (S). The rules set out in section 7 of the General Passenger Tariff (T600) apply.
Important: You must always load and unload your mobility aid independently.
Note: As before, NO mobility aid bike pass is required for rollators, wheelchairs and electric mobility scooters (as per General Passenger Tariff T600, section 7.3.3). If you need these aids, you can register your journey with the Contact Center Handicap and receive free boarding and alighting assistance.
The free mobility aid bike pass is personalised, valid for one year and is integrated onto your SwissPass.
After one year, a new ‘Application for a mobility aid bike pass with medical confirmation’ can be completed to apply for another mobility aid bike pass.
You will receive a text message or e-mail reminder on the first and last day of validity.
People with a disability may display their cantonal authority’s parking pass for disabled people and are thus exempt from paying the parking fee.
Book the assistance you require at least 1 hour before boarding or alighting. Two hours if a shuttle service is required and 24 hours for international travel. You can find exceptions on the synoptic map for people with restricted mobility.
