SWITZERLAND’s Federal Office of Transport (FOT) plans to introduce a new minimum economic viability threshold for subsidised regional passenger services operated under public service obligation (PSO) contracts. FOT says the change, due to come into force for services specified for 2029-30 onwards, is intended to address the financial challenges of the coming years.
The new threshold specifies that services that run more frequently than every 30 minutes will be required to cover at least 30% of costs from revenue such as the farebox and local funding to be eligible for federal government subsidy.
FOT says that this new measure will provide an incentive for operators and cantonal authorities to improve profitability. Both will have the option of limiting services to a half-hourly frequency, in which case the existing threshold of 20% cost coverage will apply.
Consultation on minimum cost-effectiveness in regional passenger transport runs until May 29.
