A majority of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, recently agreed to raise the tax on fuel and introduce a tax on flights. The plan was accepted by 37 of the 41 members who voted, according to 20 Minutes. To honour its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, Switzerland needs to cut greenhouse gas […]
Switzerland to test vehicle noise radars
The federal government has allocated CHF 3 billion to fight noisy vehicles, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. Despite significant investment in sound barriers and quieter road surfaces, many residents continue to lodge noise complaints, a third of them related to noisy cars and motorcycles. To combat the problem the Federal Office for the Environment […]
The rising carbon footprint of Switzerland’s new cars
In 2018, the average fuel consumption of newly registered cars in Switzerland rose by 3.6% compared to the year before. An average new car in 2018 consumes 6.08 litres per 100 km compared to the year before when it was 5.87 litres per 100 km. Average emissions for the same average new car in 2018 […]
Drivers asked to stay out of cars as ozone pollution climbs
As ozone levels surpass healthy limits across the country, the authorities are urging residents to stay out of their cars and off their motorcycles. The governments of Geneva and Vaud both issued statements calling on residents not to drive in a bid to combat ozone pollution. A sharp rise in ozone, a pollutant that can […]
Geneva’s traffic as bad as Shanghai’s
The satellite navigation company TomTom has published its annual traffic ranking of 403 cities across 56 countries on 6 continents, based on data from its GPS devices in cars across the world. Congestion is expressed as the amount of extra travel time caused by traffic congestion. An overall congestion level of 50% means that the […]
Overnight trains could return to Switzerland
Last week a spokesperson for Swiss Rail told Swiss broadcaster SFR that the rail company was discussing reintroducing long distance overnight sleeper trains. 15 years ago, Switzerland had an extensive overnight train network with destinations including Rome, Barcelona, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Graz Zagreb and Moscow. Progressively nearly all of these […]
Swiss discuss banning young drivers from roads at night
Nights, particularly weekend nights, are when most accidents involving young drivers occur. Between 2013 and 2017, 2,267 young adults between 18 and 24 were seriously injured on Swiss roads and an average of 32 were killed annually, around 14% of Switzerland’s total road deaths. Because driving reflexes are less internalized among inexperienced drivers, distractions, such […]
“CH” stickers might disappear from Swiss cars
The “CH” sticker that Swiss drivers must legally put on their vehicles before entering another country might disappear, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. The sticker, a distinguishing sign of the state in which the car is registered, must be attached to rear of any vehicle driven in a foreign country1. It is required under […]
Geneva Motor Show 2019 – the list of absent car makers
Car technology is transforming. So is the way people find out about new cars. Buyers are increasingly preferring the internet to find out about new models. In addition, presenting at car shows is expensive. Jaguar Land Rover, the maker of the Jaguar I-Pace, 2019’s Car of the Year, seems to have recognised these shifts and […]
Government looks at anti-sound radars in Geneva
A parliamentary commission in Geneva is considering developing a radar to measure vehicle noise. The motion, put forward by the Greens and supported by others, is aimed at the noisiest road users. 13 out of 15 political parties are in favour of the plan. Only the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) was against it. The party […]
