Automatic control Birsfelden BL issues 20,000 fines due to drive-through ban
The ban on through traffic that has been in force since mid-September is making the cash registers ring in Birsfelden BL. According to the municipality, 20,000 fines have already been issued since the ban was introduced.
17.10.2025, 18:18
17.10.2025, 18:19
SDA
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- The municipality of Birsfelden BL has already issued 20,000 fines since the introduction of the automatic drive-through check in mid-September.
- The number of violations has been 300 per day for around a week.
- According to Astra spokesman Thomas Rohrbach, it is not clear whether the measure is proportionate and in the public interest.
Birsfelden BL has issued 20,000 fines since the introduction of the automatic drive-through check. A quarter of the drivers fined have also paid their fines, as the municipality announced on Friday.
Around five percent of the fines have not yet been issued because the holders have not yet been identified or their addresses are invalid, as Martin Schürmann, head of the municipal administration, writes in response to an inquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency. The remaining 70 percent are still outstanding, which is in line with expectations, as the payment deadlines have not yet expired.
"Traffic in neighborhood streets has decreased noticeably"
The number of violations has been around 300 per day for around a week, according to the report. Initially, the figure was 1,000 per day, which attracted a great deal of public attention to the system. "Most importantly, traffic in the neighborhood streets has decreased noticeably," writes Schürmann. An evaluation of where the fines come from is not yet available.
As blue News reported at the beginning of October, the municipality collects around 100,000 francs per day - at least if all of the 1000 unauthorized passages registered on average also result in a paid fine.
Astra monitors the operation
The Federal Roads Office (Astra) expresses its concerns to Keystone-SDA, as it did in "Blick". As a communal traffic regulation, the measure is basically the responsibility of the communal or, if necessary, cantonal authorities. According to Astra spokesperson Thomas Rohrbach, however, it is not clear whether the measure is proportionate and in the public interest.
The Astra is monitoring operations in Birsfelden. From the point of view of the Federal Office, the question arises as to whether the measure does not constitute "indirect road pricing", as Rohrbach goes on to explain.
This is because, according to the Federal Constitution, the use of public roads is free of charge. The constitution would have to be amended for a nationwide introduction of charges - and parliament would have to decide on exceptions. "We expect this to be decided by a court," says Rohrbach.
Fines since mid-September
Since mid-September, the municipality of Birsfelden has been fining drivers CHF 100 if they use certain neighborhood roads without permission in order to avoid traffic on the freeway and on the main road in the direction of Basel. To this end, cameras are used as part of an automatic drive-through check that record the license plates on entry and exit.
