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Where are Switzerland’s best and worst train stations?

Millions of commuters travel through Swiss train stations every day. But which stations are the best? A new ranking might have the answer

Where are Switzerland’s best and worst train stations?
This "guardian angel" sculpture by artist Niki de Saint Phalle hangs over Zurich's Hauptbahnhof. Photo by Zuerich.com

News site 20 Minutes compiled Google reviews of some train stations in the Swiss-German part of the country, rating the best and worst among them.

As practically all the stations received both positive and negative comments, it is difficult to designate a clear winner or loser.

But this ranking gives an idea of what commuters like or dislike about particular stations.

Based on these reviews, the winners are….

Lucerne station, which is visited daily by 167,000 passengers and passersby, is number 1 in Switzerland.

“A nice train station in a convenient location and close to many local attractions”, one user wrote.

Zurich Hauptbahnhof , the largest in Switzerland with over 460,000 daily visitors, is ranked in the second place.

One reviewer rated it as “a very good and clearly arranged main train station. Has lots of interesting stores for shopping. And I also like the architecture very much.”

Aarau (76,000 passersby) and Zug (68,000) tied for the third place.

Aarau has a “great modern station. The new design as the lively centre of the city looks extremely successful”, one reviewer said.

As for Zug, “thanks to its light installation by [American artist] James Turrell, it is probably one of the most beautiful train station in Switzerland”. 

…and now the ‘losers’:

Biel / Bienne (69,000 visitors) is at the bottom of the chart. One of the reasons cited by a reviewer:  “There are always extremely long waiting times at the ticket counter”.

Bern. Some 330,000 passengers travel through the station in the nation’s capital, but some of them were underwhelmed. 

“Whoever came up with the idea of ​​building tracks so far away from the regular station area and then allowing highly frequented trains to run there should be dismissed”, one user commented.

Olten, with its 77,000 daily visitors is also at the bottom of the list.

“The trains are almost always late. Over time, this gets extremely annoying and is just tedious”,  one passenger noted.

You can see how other Swiss train stations rated here. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Ride-hailing service Bolt to challenge Uber in Zurich

Uber's dominance of Zurich’s ride-hailing market is about to be threatened with the arrival of Bolt in the city.

Ride-hailing service Bolt to challenge Uber in Zurich

The company, which already operates scooter and e-bike hire in both Zurich and Basel, is offering rides with drivers who are contracted through Bolt’s platform.  

In a LinkedIn post, Bolt CEO Markus Villig stated: “Despite the strict (Swiss) regulations, and therefore a limited driver pool, we already have +600 plus signed up and are only getting started.”

Bolt has promised cheaper fares than their global rival, Uber, stating that they take a 20 percent cut from each ride, in comparison to Uber’s 25 percent. 

As with Uber, users pay per kilometre travelled, with increased charges for peak or ‘surge periods’. 

Also, like Uber and other ride-hailing services, rides with Bolt are booked and paid for via a smartphone app, available for Android and Apple phones.

The Estonian company, founded by Villig as Taxify in 2013, advertises itself as a micromobility hire, grocery delivery and ride-hailing service. 

Following a significant investment by German motor giant Daimler in 2018, the company was valued at over one billion euros.

In 2019, Bolt also partnered with the University of Tartu in Estonia to develop self-driving cars, also known as autonomous vehicles (AVs). 

In 2024, Bolt operates in 500 cities across 45 countries, employing around three and a half million drivers, and has been described as the world’s fastest-growing micromobility company. 

Thanks to high incomes and a concentration of global firms having a base in Germany, taxi and ride-hailing services have enjoyed success in Switzerland. 

The market volume of ride-hailing services in Switzerland, such as Bolt, Uber, Lyft, Freenow, Gett and Ola, is projected to reach half a billion euro by 2028, with 1.39 million users. 

Despite this, traditional taxi companies still lead the Swiss market, with a current market volume of over half a billion euros. 

Much of the penetration of the new generation of ride-hailing apps has been slowed by the Swiss taxi industry’s enthusiastic adoption of apps and the Swiss government’s focus on supporting sustainable travel options, such as electric vehicles. 

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