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:

• A current, good-quality, colour passport photo. If you already have a SwissPass, you can upload your digital photo easily at swisspass.ch.
• Copy of your passport or your ID document.
• Copy of your disability insurance.
• Exception: Passengers with a disability who are permanently dependent on a wheelchair only need a doctor's certificate confirming that the customer is permanently dependent on the wheelchair for his/her mobility on public transport.

The Companion Travelcard (previous Disabled Passenger’s ID Card ) 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As of 1 January 2023, the green paper Companion Travelcard is no longer valid for travel on public transport.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 with the benefit of the free Disabled Passenger’s ID Card, 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.
• 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.

Where is the Companion Travelcard valid?

The Companion Travelcard is valid on the routes of transport companies participating in the Half Fare Travelcard.

Detailed information can be found in the official T600 General Passenger TariffLink opens in new window.

If you have any questions, please contact the SBB Contact Center Handicap. 

With the identity card, you have the following travel options:

1. Take a companion with you free of charge in Switzerland.
2. Take a guide dog or an assistance dog with you free of charge in Switzerland.
3. Take a companion and a guide dog or an assistance dog with you free of charge in Switzerland.
4. Take a companion or a guide dog with you on international journeys (TCV 710 fare). If a transport company uses market prices, the international TCV 710 fare does not apply. Prices and discounts are set directly by that transport company.

Conditions:

• 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 Disabled Passenger’s ID Card and a valid ticket (either yours or that of your companion).

There are two ways of travelling with a Companion Travelcard:

1. The person with a disability holds a Companion Travelcard and a valid ticket (full ticket, GA Travelcard or half-fare ticket); the companion travels free of charge.
2. The companion holds a valid ticket (full ticket, GA Travelcard or half-fare 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.

With the Companion Travelcard (previous Swiss Disabled Passenger’s ID Card) you can get a discount for travel on cross-border services in some trains/countries from a Swiss railway station to a railway station abroad and vice versa (under tariff TCV 710).

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.

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 SBB Contact Center Handicap 48 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.

If you are blind or have a visual impairment, you are entitled to an ‘identity card for passengers on local services who are blind or have a visual impairment’.

Features of the identity card for passengers on local services who are blind or have visual impairments.

• You can travel free of charge on local services (bus and tram) in many cities in Switzerland.
• You can travel free of charge on local services in many cities in Switzerland and take a companion, guide dog or both with you free of charge.

Where can you obtain the identity card for passengers on local services who are blind or have a visual impairment?

The card is available directly from participating transport companies. The companies are listed in the following table ‘Validity of the identity card for people who are blind or have visual impairments’. 

You need:

• A passport photo.
• A doctor’s note form.

Your personal photo ID card is valid only with a valid stamp (Kontrollmarke) and the year of issue. The valid stamp is given by the transport company.

More information is available from the participating transport companies or the regional advisory service for people who are blind or have a visual impairment.

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.

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.

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.

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 last paper identity card for working dogs was issued on 10 December 2022 and will remain in circulation no later than 9 December 2024. As of 10 December 2022, only Pass for Working Dogs will be issued. 

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 identity card for working dogs or the Companion Travelcard upon request.

Members of the following organisations can obtain a Pass for Working Dogs:

Guide dogs.

• Blindenhundeschule Allschwil (Swiss School for Guide Dogs for the Blind Allschwil)
• Stiftung Ostschweizerische Blindenführhundeschule (Eastern Switzerland School for Guide Dogs Foundation)
• Verein für Blindenhunde und Mobilitätshilfen (Association for Guide Dogs and Mobility Support)

Assistance dogs.

• Farah Dogs
• SwissHelpDogs
• Simpera
• Le Copain

Search dogs, avalanche dogs, rescue and disaster dogs.

• Schweizerischer Verein für Katastrophenhunde REDOG (Swiss Association for Rescue Dogs)
• Alpine Rettung Schweiz (Alpine Rescue Switzerland)
• Kantonale Walliser Rettungsorganisation (KWRO – Canton of Valais Rescue Organisation)

Service dogs.

• Police
• Military
• Customs office

People with a disability may display their cantonal authority’s parking pass for disabled people and are thus exempt from paying the parking fee.