Public transport BLS ticket machines in the canton of Berne without and in Lucerne with cash function
In the canton of Berne, all BLS ticket machines will be cashless in future. This will save the company around CHF 400,000 a year. In the cantons of Lucerne and Neuchâtel, however, it will still be possible to pay with coins.
07.10.2025, 14:22
SDA
This was announced by BLS on Tuesday. The reason for this is that Lucerne and Neuchâtel wanted to retain the cash function and are also bearing the additional costs. The situation is different in the canton of Berne. The majority shareholder of BLS supports the railroad's decision to use cashless machines in future.
Most passengers now buy their tickets via digital channels, writes BLS. Although it wants to continue to provide ticket machines at stations, stops and on buses, it must be able to operate them cost-effectively.
Accepting cash increases the cost of operation due to the built-in coin and note validators. They are also more susceptible to faults than cashless machines.
The ticket machines will be replaced from December 2025 to mid-2026. Payment methods include debit and credit cards, Twint and Postcard, as well as an anonymous prepaid card. This can be topped up with cash at BLS points of sale.
The issue has also occupied Bernese politicians. In 2024, the cantonal parliament demanded that BLS ticket machines continue to accept cash. The Bernese transport directorate came to the conclusion that the proposal could not be implemented and pointed to the high costs.
SBB tests
SBB is running a pilot trial at Fribourg and Olten stations until the end of 2025. It is intended to show how customers react to cashless ticket machines. During the test, some machines with a cash function will remain available in both stations, as a spokeswoman said on request.
SBB will decide how to proceed once the test has been evaluated. In the long term, it plans to offer as many cashless services as possible "in order to increase security and save costs". However, SBB will continue to offer an alternative for customers who prefer to pay with cash.
