nrr

The new product "saver day pass" is noted in another thread here on FT.
I just received the Oct.2017 sbb newsletter, the saver day pass is NOT mentioned; at www.sbb.ch/en unless you know to look for the sdp it is hidden away...I guess they want to keep it a secret.

KayVeeBee

Well, the official launch is next year I believe. This is a trial...

This is pretty convenient when arriving at ZRH and headed for a distant corner of the country, as this pass covers all public transport.

SwissBritMiss

There seems to be extremely limited availability - I cannot see a single ticket available between now and 30 days out (max advanced purchase) at 0930 CET... ah well. There's the Duo Tageskarte for now.

PS thank you for pointing out though!

SwissBritMiss

OK, it seems to be an IT issue when you try and buy the pass directly from the Tageskarte section of the SBB site. However, if you enter an itinerary, then they will appear as options when you select a ticket type. As an example, I chose Zurich to Zermatt (usually 250Fr or so without a Halbtax) on a few random dates between now and 30 days out; it is as low as 104Fr return without Halbtax and 58Fr with - which is not a bad saving at all!

nrr

I tried to do a "dummy" purchase of a 1-day saver 1st class pass for Nov. 15 @49sFR, I got to the spot where I had to enter my credit card info, it seems that once I entered that info I should have been able to complete my purchase, since I was NOT ready to do a real purchase I stopped.

Related quest., I did have an SBB acct, but they want me (to save time for future purchases) to register my Swiss Pass, to do so they are asking for my postal code; my Swiss Pass was delivered to the SBB office in ZRH Flughafen, how do I set up my Swiss Pass acct.?

Follow-up, I was able to register WITHOUT entering my Swiss Pass info.

KayVeeBee

You picked up your Swiss Pass at the SBB ticket office? I did not know this was possible. I thought they just mailed that to you, even if you lived abroad.
You are not talking about the Swiss Travel Pass here, right, but the "Swiss Pass" (the little Red RFID Card...)

If it is indeed the Swiss Pass (with the Half Fare Card on it) it is a good idea to try to connect it to your account anyway, as that way if you buy tickets with your phone you only need ot have the conductor scan your phone display, and do no longer need to show the card as well. Apperently if you live abroad you can just put a 0 in the postcode field.

nrr

I have my 1/2 fare card on my Swiss Pass. Pre Swiss Pass they delivered my 1/2 fare cards to ZRH Flughafen SBB office.
I have a "locked" Apple I-phone which won't work in Switz.
In any event, wouldn't a conductor want to see my picture?

Concerto

With the locked phone issue what I do is to turn roaming off and connect to a free wifi when I need it. Every Swiss station has a free wifi connection, so I just buy my ticket using it (or call up a prepaid saver ticket) and the controller (conductor in English) can scan. It works perfectly offline. I'm doing it on a daily basis just now. Of course, you need to download the SBB app.

I am very interested in the saver day ticket, I would like to go to Kandersteg next week. Where should I be looking for it? There is a slight disadvantage if you pre purchase a day ticket: if you are going hiking and it turns out to be raining on the day you planned to go then the ticket is wasted.

By the way, I think those day tickets are far too expensive with the half fare card. CHF73 or whatever is a lot of money.

KayVeeBee

Why would it not work in Switzerland, but elsewhere in Europe be fine?

Indeed. When they scan my phone my picture appears on their screen.

The SBB Swiss Pass actually does not store anything. it's just an RFID card with a number. The entitlements (and all accompanying personal data, including your picture) are stored centrally, and the conductors apparently have a full copy of that on their devices.

SwissBritMiss

Just type in the journey you want to take. If the Spartageskarte are available at a price which is cheaper than the normal fare, it will show up as an option on the website or app (so make sure that you enter your Halbtax therefore as the availability of the Spartagekarten are different for with and without).

Note that if you type in a starting point that isn't a main station (e.g. a bus stop rather than Z�rich HB), the Spartageskarten may not show up, even though they cover most intra-city services...

nrr

I believe my I-phone only has service in the USA. I may be able to "unlock" it, I'll have to check with Virgin Mobile USA.
PS: Apple I-phone obtained from Apple are unlocked, I got mine through Virgin Mobile's $1 for one years service promo.

nrr

WITH a 1/2 fare card, saver day passes purchased 30 days in advance are "advertised" as 29SFR/2nd class and 49SFR/1st class (with increasing prices up to the day before travel). The real saving comes if you use them on weekends (when the 9 o'clock day cards are not valid).

KL803

If you're looking for a direct link: https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-an...-day-pass.html

Some great savings, even without the half fare card (Halbtax). And the T&C state that there are no time restrictions. The most expensive option is for the next day: CHF 59.00 (full fare CHF 109.00) but with no time restrictions still more attractive than the 9 o'clock day pass.

nrr

Even with a 1/2 fare card, nearly one month from now, on some days 1st class is 49SFR, but the next day it is 66SFR; on other days 2nd class is 39SFR while 1st class is (just) 49SFR. They must be using some "algorithm" to arrive at the prices, travel patterns from previous years(?)

KayVeeBee

They just have a number of cards available at different price levels. The cheap ones go first, so you are just seeing that on some days more cards have already been sold.

That, or someone is just playing "Air Line"...