Getting+Around

=Getting Around=

Public Transport
Switzerland has an excellent public transport system and it's relatively economical. There are many tips and tricks to save money and make your journey easier.

The pdf plan below is not intended to confuse you, just to illustrate that there's lots of connections! If you are searching for timetables or how to get from A to B, go to the Swiss railway sitewhich covers all trains, trams, buses, etc., enter your location and then add your destination. For the bus stop by the High School enter "Hünenberg, Seeblick" and for the bus stop by Zug Campus enter "Baar, Walterswil". This will then calculate your route and connections.

More details to follow about fares and monthly/annual passes which are great value and probably the best way to go.

Tickets and passes
It's perfectly easy to buy single tickets when you need them, but in Switzerland most people who regularly use public transport have a monthly or annual pass.

If you know you'll use the train frequently, you have two items to think about:

Firstly, the 1/2 tax card. To locals this is as Swiss as cheese with holes or chocolate! It comes in several varieties (1 year, 2 years, 3 years) and gives you the right to buy tickets at half price on the trains and reduced prices on the buses. Example: if you travel from the airport to Cham and back the 'normal' price is 42.00 SFr. With a half-tax this becomes 21.00 SFr. You can quickly see why more than 2 million inhabitants have a half-tax card! The card also allows you to buy day passes for travelling all over Switzerland, but perhaps new staff might not be worrying about that in their first weeks :-)

Secondly, if you intend to travel to and from work daily by public transport (which many staff do), head into your local train station office and grab a Zuger Pass. This covers the Zug network (trains and buses) and comes as a monthly or annual ticket. The monthly card at 64.00 SFr might be a good starting point, allowing you free access to the whole area. An annual pass costs 576.00 SFr meaning you get 3 months free. It has some advantages in that you can take guests for free after 7pm or on weekends. As a bonus, both passes include from Zug up the Zugerberg (Zug mountain) on the cog railway!

If it all sounds a bit complicated, don't worry. HR, your buddy or other school staff will point you in the right direction when you get here. We even sell bus tickets at the school reception on Zug Campus - how helpful is that!

Cars
A great website for buying used cars, or just to get an idea of prices. Second hand cars tend to be a little more expensive than other European countries. Quality is usually very high and resale prices also hold up well.

Latest petrol/gasoline prices - 1.81 SFr per litre (21 May 2011). Diesel is slightly more expensive.