By Train or By Car

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For many years I could go to work by car so I did, because I had a parking. When I worked for other employers I took the train for a simple reason. Parking near work would cost 36 CHF per day whereas taking the train would cost about 14.50 CHF per day. I stopped using the car to commute for a simple reason, the cost of parking

[20min](https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/pendulaires-les-trains-ny-peuvent-rien-les-suisses-saccrochent-a-la-voiture-103116691?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1717042499) just had an article about how the Swiss are bad at leaving the car at home, to replace it by the car, and for me there are two reasons. The first is that if parking at work is free, then you might as well take the car as it’s more convenient.

The second reason is that travelling by car, although often in traffic jams is still faster than going by train. By car you drive for 45 minutes from Gingins to Geneva, but by train it would often take one and a half hours by train, especially on the return journey.

The connection between Nyon and Geneva is now 13 minutes but that’s because all the smaller train stations are now ignored by most trains. This means that it could be easier to drive, or cycle, than take public transport.

The problem with cycling is that you need a safe place for the bike. You also need safe routes to get from A to B. If the bike is stolen, or if you get bullied by cars, then you are less likely to cycle.

Another issue is that people don’t realise how short journeys could be, on foot, if they live in Geneva, but take buses or trams. In London and Rome I found that if I took the tube or metro I would have no sense of how close places were, if only I took the time to walk between them.

## P&R CFF Parking

A few days ago I went for a hike. I went by car, not because I didn’t want to take the train, but because, as I have a foot injury I prefer not to walk to far. Ironically I skipped the walk from home to Nyon, but walked over 16kms once at destination.

That’s not the point. The point is that if Park and Ride (P&R) parkings cost five francs for 24 hours, then the decision to take the train is simplified. It costs 5 CHF for 24hrs in La Sarraz and [12 CHF per day in Nyon](https://www.parking.ch/fr/parkings/nyon/p-und-rail-nyon).

## Expanding the A1 and Commuters

The Swiss want to expand the A1 motorway but this will worsen the problem rather than fix it. They will add a lane of traffic but in a decade or so, and the works will take years, and by the time it is finished it will be inadequate again. Rather than spend billions on expanding the A1 motorway they should improve transport to and from villages. During the day you have one bus per hour except at rush hour. This means that buses are less convenient than the car.

## And Finally

The car is great for when you’re climbing or doing Via Ferrata, as well as when you’re doing loops. When you’re doing linear hikes the train becomes far more appealing, because the logistics are simple. Take the train to the start point and then take the train from the end point. With a car you would need to plan where to park the car, rather at the end or the beginning, and whether to do it with one or two cars. One being at the start and the other at the end.

Commuting by train makes sense, unless you’re working shifts.

I recently renewed my Demi-Tarif so that I could take trains for various hiking activities, especially linear hikes.