Thank you for taking my suggestion 1. Solar is a thing here though it's only really reached prominence in the past few years, and the utilities aren't government controller. 2. Zurich certainly has a very high cost of living but also good wages so it all kinda evens out. Still rent in Zurich is really overpriced. 3. Yeah a lot of people buy yearly or monthly passes, those passes can be either for a local(ish) network or for the full country. There is a yearly (or monthly) travelcard called GA which allows you to use all trains, buses and ships (with only some mountainous trains being excluded). The trains generally don't run 24/7 except on the weekends in some urban areas. 4. Everybody can use the handicapped bathroom in the train, it's just a normal bathroom. They have these due to federal regulations on handicapped accessibility. The same thing with the ramps, level boarding and lifts. I'm not sure about the rest of Europe but I know that Switzerland has very strict laws when it comes to accessibility.
@@wietholdtbuhl6168 Top, ich denke das wird schon wieder. Die Fähigkeit dazu habt ihr auf jedenfall, zudem was Hochgeschwindgkeit angeht können wir noch was von euch lernen. Einne gruss nach Deutschland!
I saw a documentary about how IKEA was raiding all the forests in Europe. It was not flattering. The switch from quality expensive furniture to inexpensive disposable furniture is becoming a problem.
9:47 We've something called "Mobility". They lease cars in different sizes normally parked around train stations. You can have them for a selected time and after using them you just return them to the parking spot and leave them. It's pretty cheap and the only thing you need to do is select a timeframe on their app and pay them 2.- CHF per hour and 0.60 CHF for every kilometer. 1 CHF = 1.14 USD and our monthly salary for jobs like a barber is 3'700.- and for nurses 5'000.- so it's very affordable when you need a car for something.
7:35 Passes/subscriptions are available in various forms. The big one is the "Generalabonoment" General Pass/Subscription. Quite expensive (about a month's wage for an unskilled factory worker) but gives you unlimited access to almost all public transit in the country. There are also regional passes that are cheaper. I use one for daily commute that's about 1300 CHF a year. If I'd use a car for the commute, it would cost me about 500 CHF per month (23 kilometers one-way, average 21.7 days per month at 0.5 CHF per kilometer (that figure includes fuel, insurance, parking, maintenance and depreciation)).
You can have trains AND own a car. You can drive to your home improvement store anywhere in europe, load up whatever you drive, but you dont HAVE to drive everywhere and especially dont have to commute everyday in a car stuck in traffic, why wouldnt you want to sit down comfortably, read a book or watch some youtube in a nice train as a start to your workday rather than suffering through traffic and highways etc. Its all about options and simplicity.
7:45 You got the whole country divided between Regional Public or Private Transport. And they divide the area they serve into zones. Somestimes, one Public Transport Company has zones that overlap another Public Transport Company's zone. If you buy your ticket from point A to point B in different zones, you usually pays a fixed amount calculated on the zones you travel. On a national level, you have many Train Companies (SBB-CFF-FFS, SoB, RhB, BLS, CJ, etc.) that operates different systems but all have integrated the same scheduling slots of trains. So you can ride CFF train from point A to point B and then to point C, ride another train of BLS or CJ or SoB or RhB, etc. But when you buy your ticket, SBB-CFF-FFS sells you one ticket that is valid from Point A to Point B, without taking into account different companies and public transport networks you will use. You can therefore buy a single ticket, or use what they call 1/2 Fare: you buy your 1/2 Fare pass and then all your transports for a year (or two, or a month, depending of the length of what you buy) and then all costs are either reduced half-price of normal fare, or reduced price on some private / public other companies. And you also have the General Fare (GA/AG) you buy for a certain period of time and then you can just use ALL public transports (bus, trains, trams, cable-car, trolleybus, boats, and sometimes with reduced price, private train or high altitude train (such as Jungfraujochbahn) or gondolas) as you wish and as much as you want, and the hundreds of public/private transport companies are comprised within the same fare. It's like you would pay a General Fare per month (or year) and then would be able to travel with your pass from Los Angeles to New York via Chicago, Houston and Miami without having to pay anything anymore with public transportation, wether it would be the NYCT public transport company, AMTRAK, or LACMTA, etc.)
Hey, I own a house in Switzerland, I almost only use public transportation, do 99% of my trip by train. I did a lot of renovation in my house by myself and anytime I needed to go to the hardware store or garden center I would rent a car through a car-sharing service named "mobility" How it works, there's cars (or small utility vehicules) around on fixed parking spots, you can rent them and pay a few bucks per hours of rental and distance travelled during the rental. Best of all you have no time lost at a "rental agency" you can just lock and unlock the cars with a contactles card and or your phone. Costs me $30-60 per half day trips to go and fill the utility vehicule with building materials. There's definitely cases where using personal transportation is much better but I'm glad for most leisure and work related business I do not need to sit in traffic :)
The most sustainable source of energy in Switzerland is hydropower. There are a lot of rivers coming down fast from the mountains and we have dams. The dams are also a really good way to regulate energy production. So the efforts of change are mostly put in hydropower. Yes, there are solar panels but as many regions in Switzerland have not a lot of sun, especially in the months where you need most energy it's not the best solution. If you see these beautiful pictures of Swiss landscapes there's one thing you miss: houses. That's not where we live. Where we live there is a lot of fog between October and March. To see the sun we have to go up on the mountains.
I live in Switzerland and i have a yearly pass called GA, which allows me to pretty much use every Train, Bus, Tram, Ship and even some Gondolas for free. I personally pay for it myself but when i used to go to school using the Bus, they would provide a regional pass for students who use public transport which i could use all year round. As someone who uses both cars and trains, i personally prefer traveling by train much more here. That being said, i've also traveled other countries by train but it was far less relaxing than here in Switzerland.
There are definitely advantages to having the train option. We pay more than $1000 per month for car insurance and gas (and our gas is much cheaper than Europe).
I don't have a car anymore, because I don't need it. I usually walk around the city and I commute walking (45 minutes for each trip), I use the busses and trains every time I have to go more than 5km away from home, so I don't have an abonnement neither, I simply pay my tickets when needed (with the app is easy to pay the right amount on the spot). The rare case when I need a car, I can simply use the one available at work or rent one. The advantage of a good transportation system is that you have the choice to have a car or not, it's not something that's mandatory to live and work. Buying a full load of the SUV to fix the house or other big purchases that need a car is not so usual, how many time per year do you need a car to move a big mass of things? Maybe once or twice in a year? So why not rent a car when needed and just using public transportations to move around the rest of the year? This is something we can do in Switzerland and in many other places on the continent, but something that in USA you can't do (or only in very specific cities).
As you say it depends on the situation. I have a car for rural and shopping trips. But if I have a business meeting in Zürich or Geneva, it does not make sense for me to take the car. I prefer the train and use the time and I do not have the hassle of scarce or expensive parking, etc.
I think the OP meant with 'Travel' to move as leisure. Like go sight seeing or moving from one city to the other, or commute. People still use cars to do their shopping (unless it fits in a backpack or a single bag).
With a network like we have in Switzerland, it is objectively the best way to travel. You can get everywhere, it's more comfortable and cheaper than a car (the full-year pass for the entirety of Switzerland costs about $4,000, a car costs about $10,000 per year on average), it's safer than a car, you can spend your voyage working, watching a movie or reading a book (less wasted time), you can enjoy the view ... Speed is probably the only advantage of a car, but only outside of rush-hour. If you need to transport stuff, there's a car sharing service that has transport vans in perfect condition. You can rent them on an hourly basis, which is, again, cheaper than owning a car if you don't use it every day. And you don't have to use it every day because there's brillant public transportation. It's not just how you're brought up, many give up their cars once they've moved here (especially in cities) because they're simply not necessary.
The Nuclear is being slowly phased out now, thank goodness. A lot of Switzerland is acutally really suitable for Photovoltaik, so that will be expanded now thanks to the new electricity law.
@@Joseph13163 - Never thought I would care about trains, but they seem really cool. Our local public transport is dirty and/or nonexistent. Of course each state is different, but nothing like Switzerland.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American You also have what they call «P+Rail» (Park and Rail). You have pretty big or important Parkings for your car around an important transport hub (Train station) and then you can drive with your car there, park your car and jump in a metro, a tram or a transit system right at the same place of the parking slot. It allows you to use your car because sometimes, it's the only way to deal with distance, up to a train station. And then do the biggest part by train.
Depending on where you live and work people don't necessarily buy the full General Fare subscription but only for a part of the network, which makes them a lot cheaper.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American don't forget gas prices and maintenance! How many miles per gallon, how many miles per year? Is it more or less than $5000?
@@Average_Middle_Aged_Americandepending on where you live, it’s at least almost a car replacement. For the little stuff (food, clothing, etc. there’s usually stores on your commute so you pick up the dinner ingredients on the way from work and most reasonably sized items (TV, lamp, …) you CAN take on public transport (just don’t do it at rush hour and you’ll probably get a weird look or two but it’s legal and doable) and for the one time a year you need a lot of big stuff right now, there’s cheap rental cars or someone has a car. But with a little bit of willingness to get things in smaller doses, you can live without a car. Hell, my grandma never even bothered getting a license and made it to 85ish
about the payment options. everything is divided into zones and you can buy for example one day passes for multiple zones. and you can now ride those zones as much as you want until the day is over. or you can also buy for a 4 digit sum a year subscription and just ride any train to anywhere for a full year. the thing i use most of the time is the easy ride app that you can just activate when you hop in and deactivate when you get out of the train and it will charge you just for the single ride automatically. based on GPS information.
You asked if the train run 24/7, they run every day from ~5:00am to ~1:00am the next day. So it's 20h out of 24h. We also use our cars in Switzerland ^^, indeed when you need to shop a lot a things at the same time and you live in the countryside you use the car. For me that live outside a city, if I want to go to the mall, I use the car, if I need to go in the city close to me I know where to park, but if I want to go further, in another city I don't want to drive in a place I don't know well and stress about finding a parking space that does not cost an arm, so I use the train departing from the city next to me.
Major connections (Luzern to Zürich for example) and city connections also usually run hourly after 1am until 5am with no upcost anymore (changed like 8 years ago, before it costed like 5 bucks more), but I can only speak for central switzerland here.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American Now my mother bought her heating oil cheaper than it had been for several years. And I got so much back from the service charges (€70 per month advance payment) and from the electricity provider (€30 per month). Gasoline prices also reasonably normal again. I don't know where your figures come from.
See more video's of 'Not Just Bikes' of how the Dutch use their bikes and even transport big things on a bike. Not Just Bikes also has a video about Ikea in the Netherlands and cycling to the store. Btw in Europe pick-up trucks aren't driven by common people, mainly by businesses. And Europe doesn't have zoning restrictions like the US has. So a grocery shop in Europe is only a bike ride or short walk from your home.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American In the Netherlands and I think in other European countries too don’t have zoning restrictions for pure residential, shopping or industrial. In the Netherlands check the environmental plan at the local council to know what you can and cannot do at the location. Also check which permits you need. And look at the environmental regulations (for every kind pollution etc) and local taxes. A business owner applies for a permit at the city council and they publishes 6 weeks before granting the permit in the local weekly free newspaper. People then can object to this permit and if the city council agrees with the objections the permit is denied, when there are no objections the permit granted. That is why our city centers and residential neighborhoods are of mixed use. You can find a community center, grocery store, primary school, gas station, small shopping center in residential areas. Our city centers are living city centers with shops on the ground floor and residential apartments above. Historically the shop owner lived above his shop. ua-cam.com/video/9YhnnVZzOus/v-deo.html Watch this video of a small shopping center in Delfzijl which has been build 14 years ago. One side there are rental apartments and the other side are apartments you buy. Even an old peoples home is located near this shopping center ua-cam.com/video/hVSQ7MWsZRo/v-deo.html This video is of the city center of Delfzijl.
I have an annual travelcard for public transport in Switzerland. This is paid for by my employer as I live in Basel and work in Zurich. The train journey takes 53 minutes and I have to be in the office twice a week. The advantage of this travelcard is that I can use any means of public transport in any part of Switzerland. Bus, streetcar, boat no matter where and no matter how often.
Installation costs for solar are all over the place in Switzerland. Friend of mine recently added 12 panels to his roof, fortunately hes professionally capable of doing it himself. For the sake of it, he still got some offers, the installation cost was from 60k to 120k CHF (70k to 140k $). Its a very high demand and still a bit of a side hustle for many companies. Its not in a good spot.
Yes people would buy yearly passes to get the best value for their money. Usually they might just buy a pass for their commute or their region, but there is indeed a pass for the whole country and every mode of transport for I believe around $4000 per year. They don't run 24/7 as maintenance work is done during the night, but there are night trains at the weekends. Also many, in fact most people in Switzerland still use their cars because even with high quality public transport it has its limits. Obviously people would use a car to go to a "Home Improvement Store". Personally I am a big fan of public transport here as it is very useful, you can get everywhere, and it saves me a lot of money because I don't need to own a car. But lately I've also become fed up with its limitations especially since I moved away from Zurich. For example I had to go to the electronics store that's 2 km away, so not even 1,5 miles - by car that would take 6 minutes. with the city bus it takes around 20 minutes because of the difficult topology of where I live and the connection at the mainstation. Same thing for visiting my parents - that would take 2 hours by train and 1 hour by car. Of course, those are cherrypicked bad examples, there are plenty of routes where public transport works a lot better, but for many connections this is the reality.
I own an old chalet with big garden where quite some work must be done. I had never a car and don't drive, but I own a yearly pass 1st class, which is much better. For transportation of smaller goods I use a cart mounted to my bicycle or I go with into regional trains. No problem. Bigger goods are delivered. Correction: at small stations, the frequency in one direction is most often only one per hour. Buses even less at non-rush-hours.
I am 50 years old, i am living without a car, public transport, sometimes a taxi or uber, if i have to transport something, i hire a car or let bring the things. No problems here in Switzerland.
@gerardschnueriger5624 - It is the hardware store that always makes me thankful for my large SUV. Of course, we dont have a great train system like Switzerland, just a lot of roads and gas stations. 😀
60% of the energy consumption is from water power, so why you see all these reservoir lakes in the mountains. Solar we have more in the cities or in in industry areas. In a lot of this small houses in the alps you have high restrictions if you want to change anything because a lot of them are cultural protected and you have too keep them more or less like they are.... but there are some plans to build some solar fields in the mountain areas, but then you get problem with NGOs etc. Switzerland as a country is packed with people compared to their size. So every squaremeter of land is a fight between different interest groups. Living, Agriculture, Energie, Flora/Fauna protection, historucal, cultural etc....
Do you want to see what it’s like to live in Switzerland? These are Canadians who decided to make their home in Switzerland! :) ua-cam.com/video/KSygGq6DitU/v-deo.html
The fact that even American people doesn't even know the basic of good transportation is crazy for me😂 i mean where their tax even go? we in Europe, East Asia even South East Asian are racing to build good public transportation, meanwhile American people were like "well yeah they have higher costs of living" Or "how about the heater, they rise heater bill there right? " and many more excuse😂 is kinda sad to see how American people doesn't even know by having good public transportation, everything become more accessible and by giving people the opportunity to work without worrying about having traffic, car, or where to park their car all the time, more people get to work fast, more people can do their business faster, and more people commute faster. Meaning more money generated.
@daviano_R.T. - our taxes are lower than most European countries, so ot is apples and oranges. As far as living costs, most Americans that are complaining have never been outside the country to compare lifestyles.
@Average_Middle_Aged_American yeah, i understand that, one of my friend that came from America that i firstly meet in Singapore also said the same thing, most Americans didn't go outside their country (well except Canada mostly) But still Respectfully speaking, i wonder how isolated the media are in America to not know most countries outside the USA are racing to making sure their people at the very least have good public transportation. Knowing how much the U.S. get from tax alone, yet they didn't even have at the very least good public transportation is crazy, even country like Thailand have far better public transportation services than most of big city in the U.S.
We have 300 million cars. There are a few high speed railways in the works. Florida, California, Nevada of the top of my head. We have a long way to go.
Bad comparison Personal transportation verses shoping tours. Most of the peopels dont go on big shopintours whit a train. But if you go to work or visite soneone that is the way to go whit the train.
We can hire cars/vans as needed. Cheaper than buying them and paying insurance etc. When the public transport and biking infra is as developed as this you wouldnt drive everyday and children can play outside alone.
Yeah switzerland is hella expensive in general. At least for internationals. They also earn very very well, so it evens out for them, but I'm from germany and whenever I go to switzerland I'll definitely need to have a look on how much I'm spending. Many southern germans at the border work in switzerland for the higher wages but live in germany for the cheaper cost of living, that's one of the benefits of having the free movement of people without border checks. Switzerland isn't part of the EU, but effectively has joined the Schengen Area nonetheless
Overall, the maker of the video sees everything from the perspective of a relaxed tourist who is in a landscape that is new to him. As a tourist, you naturally enjoy the great landscape during unplanned breaks. Would a Swiss businessman also be so relaxed if he missed an important appointment because of a train delay? Hardly. Or if someone wants to do a quick bit of shopping after work, but then can't get to the supermarket in time because of the train delay? In Switzerland, too, no one will transport a new kitchen home on the train. Instead, they will use an SUV or a van. In Switzerland, too, depending on life circumstances, there are certainly situations where it is more advisable to use a car. Just like in every country. It always depends on your individual personal circumstances. Where do you live, where do you work, are you alone or are you part of a family, etc. Overall, however, it is more common in Europe to use the train as a means of transport. Not just in Switzerland. As mentioned in the video, the Swiss railways are certainly the best in Europe. Reliable, punctual, clean, comfortable, safe. And above all, the Swiss people probably wanted the railway to become one of the best in Europe. But the railway is only one part of the quality of life in Switzerland. In Switzerland, everything just works 😎 Best wishes to wonderful Switzerland!
A businessman who misses a connection can still work while waiting for the next train. He cannot do it while stuck in a traffic jam unless he has a driver.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American You're fine, just be yourself. Don't be fake just because someone wants you to be more “entertaining”. Everyone is the way they are.
Thank you for taking my suggestion
1. Solar is a thing here though it's only really reached prominence in the past few years, and the utilities aren't government controller.
2. Zurich certainly has a very high cost of living but also good wages so it all kinda evens out. Still rent in Zurich is really overpriced.
3. Yeah a lot of people buy yearly or monthly passes, those passes can be either for a local(ish) network or for the full country. There is a yearly (or monthly) travelcard called GA which allows you to use all trains, buses and ships (with only some mountainous trains being excluded). The trains generally don't run 24/7 except on the weekends in some urban areas.
4. Everybody can use the handicapped bathroom in the train, it's just a normal bathroom. They have these due to federal regulations on handicapped accessibility. The same thing with the ramps, level boarding and lifts. I'm not sure about the rest of Europe but I know that Switzerland has very strict laws when it comes to accessibility.
Same as in Germany 🇩🇪
@@wietholdtbuhl6168 Except our trains are on time 😂
@@TheBown1 Ja ich weiß das wir nehmen euch und Japan als Vorbild!
@@wietholdtbuhl6168 Top, ich denke das wird schon wieder. Die Fähigkeit dazu habt ihr auf jedenfall, zudem was Hochgeschwindgkeit angeht können wir noch was von euch lernen. Einne gruss nach Deutschland!
@@TheBown1I use the Seehas (SBB Constance - Engen) all the time - it's just great.
Fun fact - the first IKEA built outside of Sweden was in Switzerland! 😂
I saw a documentary about how IKEA was raiding all the forests in Europe. It was not flattering. The switch from quality expensive furniture to inexpensive disposable furniture is becoming a problem.
9:47 We've something called "Mobility". They lease cars in different sizes normally parked around train stations. You can have them for a selected time and after using them you just return them to the parking spot and leave them. It's pretty cheap and the only thing you need to do is select a timeframe on their app and pay them 2.- CHF per hour and 0.60 CHF for every kilometer. 1 CHF = 1.14 USD and our monthly salary for jobs like a barber is 3'700.- and for nurses 5'000.- so it's very affordable when you need a car for something.
Very cool. Thanks!
7:35 Passes/subscriptions are available in various forms.
The big one is the "Generalabonoment" General Pass/Subscription. Quite expensive (about a month's wage for an unskilled factory worker) but gives you unlimited access to almost all public transit in the country.
There are also regional passes that are cheaper. I use one for daily commute that's about 1300 CHF a year.
If I'd use a car for the commute, it would cost me about 500 CHF per month (23 kilometers one-way, average 21.7 days per month at 0.5 CHF per kilometer (that figure includes fuel, insurance, parking, maintenance and depreciation)).
I can definitely see the advantage of at least having the option. Thanks for checking out my channel!
You can have trains AND own a car. You can drive to your home improvement store anywhere in europe, load up whatever you drive, but you dont HAVE to drive everywhere and especially dont have to commute everyday in a car stuck in traffic, why wouldnt you want to sit down comfortably, read a book or watch some youtube in a nice train as a start to your workday rather than suffering through traffic and highways etc. Its all about options and simplicity.
@WookieWarriorz - sounds great!
7:45 You got the whole country divided between Regional Public or Private Transport. And they divide the area they serve into zones. Somestimes, one Public Transport Company has zones that overlap another Public Transport Company's zone. If you buy your ticket from point A to point B in different zones, you usually pays a fixed amount calculated on the zones you travel. On a national level, you have many Train Companies (SBB-CFF-FFS, SoB, RhB, BLS, CJ, etc.) that operates different systems but all have integrated the same scheduling slots of trains. So you can ride CFF train from point A to point B and then to point C, ride another train of BLS or CJ or SoB or RhB, etc. But when you buy your ticket, SBB-CFF-FFS sells you one ticket that is valid from Point A to Point B, without taking into account different companies and public transport networks you will use. You can therefore buy a single ticket, or use what they call 1/2 Fare: you buy your 1/2 Fare pass and then all your transports for a year (or two, or a month, depending of the length of what you buy) and then all costs are either reduced half-price of normal fare, or reduced price on some private / public other companies. And you also have the General Fare (GA/AG) you buy for a certain period of time and then you can just use ALL public transports (bus, trains, trams, cable-car, trolleybus, boats, and sometimes with reduced price, private train or high altitude train (such as Jungfraujochbahn) or gondolas) as you wish and as much as you want, and the hundreds of public/private transport companies are comprised within the same fare.
It's like you would pay a General Fare per month (or year) and then would be able to travel with your pass from Los Angeles to New York via Chicago, Houston and Miami without having to pay anything anymore with public transportation, wether it would be the NYCT public transport company, AMTRAK, or LACMTA, etc.)
Simple Enough.
LMAO!!!
Thanks for the information!
Hey, I own a house in Switzerland, I almost only use public transportation, do 99% of my trip by train.
I did a lot of renovation in my house by myself and anytime I needed to go to the hardware store or garden center I would rent a car through a car-sharing service named "mobility"
How it works, there's cars (or small utility vehicules) around on fixed parking spots, you can rent them and pay a few bucks per hours of rental and distance travelled during the rental.
Best of all you have no time lost at a "rental agency" you can just lock and unlock the cars with a contactles card and or your phone.
Costs me $30-60 per half day trips to go and fill the utility vehicule with building materials.
There's definitely cases where using personal transportation is much better but I'm glad for most leisure and work related business I do not need to sit in traffic :)
@@tycondryus - that is cool!
The most sustainable source of energy in Switzerland is hydropower. There are a lot of rivers coming down fast from the mountains and we have dams.
The dams are also a really good way to regulate energy production. So the efforts of change are mostly put in hydropower.
Yes, there are solar panels but as many regions in Switzerland have not a lot of sun, especially in the months where you need most energy it's not the best solution.
If you see these beautiful pictures of Swiss landscapes there's one thing you miss: houses. That's not where we live. Where we live there is a lot of fog between October and March. To see the sun we have to go up on the mountains.
I live in Switzerland and i have a yearly pass called GA, which allows me to pretty much use every Train, Bus, Tram, Ship and even some Gondolas for free. I personally pay for it myself but when i used to go to school using the Bus, they would provide a regional pass for students who use public transport which i could use all year round. As someone who uses both cars and trains, i personally prefer traveling by train much more here. That being said, i've also traveled other countries by train but it was far less relaxing than here in Switzerland.
There are definitely advantages to having the train option. We pay more than $1000 per month for car insurance and gas (and our gas is much cheaper than Europe).
Thank you for replying and checking out my channel!
I don't have a car anymore, because I don't need it.
I usually walk around the city and I commute walking (45 minutes for each trip), I use the busses and trains every time I have to go more than 5km away from home, so I don't have an abonnement neither, I simply pay my tickets when needed (with the app is easy to pay the right amount on the spot).
The rare case when I need a car, I can simply use the one available at work or rent one.
The advantage of a good transportation system is that you have the choice to have a car or not, it's not something that's mandatory to live and work.
Buying a full load of the SUV to fix the house or other big purchases that need a car is not so usual, how many time per year do you need a car to move a big mass of things? Maybe once or twice in a year? So why not rent a car when needed and just using public transportations to move around the rest of the year?
This is something we can do in Switzerland and in many other places on the continent, but something that in USA you can't do (or only in very specific cities).
@LeopoldoGhielmetti - I would love a great train system. I have never had less than 1 car since was 16. I think I would lose my mind. 😆
As you say it depends on the situation. I have a car for rural and shopping trips. But if I have a business meeting in Zürich or Geneva, it does not make sense for me to take the car. I prefer the train and use the time and I do not have the hassle of scarce or expensive parking, etc.
in the new local trains every toilet is made for handycap use in swizzerland.
Awesome! Us fat Americans love our space! 🙂
I think the OP meant with 'Travel' to move as leisure. Like go sight seeing or moving from one city to the other, or commute. People still use cars to do their shopping (unless it fits in a backpack or a single bag).
With a network like we have in Switzerland, it is objectively the best way to travel. You can get everywhere, it's more comfortable and cheaper than a car (the full-year pass for the entirety of Switzerland costs about $4,000, a car costs about $10,000 per year on average), it's safer than a car, you can spend your voyage working, watching a movie or reading a book (less wasted time), you can enjoy the view ... Speed is probably the only advantage of a car, but only outside of rush-hour. If you need to transport stuff, there's a car sharing service that has transport vans in perfect condition. You can rent them on an hourly basis, which is, again, cheaper than owning a car if you don't use it every day. And you don't have to use it every day because there's brillant public transportation. It's not just how you're brought up, many give up their cars once they've moved here (especially in cities) because they're simply not necessary.
@@stanislemovsky5590 - sounds like a great option! Thanks for commenting and checking out my channel!
I don't think electricity is that expensive as they have a lot of hydroelectricty due to the topography and they also have Nuclear.
ahhhh, makes sense.
The Nuclear is being slowly phased out now, thank goodness. A lot of Switzerland is acutally really suitable for Photovoltaik, so that will be expanded now thanks to the new electricity law.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American I was there at a wedding came back to ireland on friday.The trains are unreal as is the infrastructure as a whole
@@keskonriks710 yes i saw tons of solar panels there especially in the jura valle de Brevine,just back three days
@@Joseph13163 - Never thought I would care about trains, but they seem really cool. Our local public transport is dirty and/or nonexistent. Of course each state is different, but nothing like Switzerland.
A pass for 1 year costs 3,995 Swiss francs 4,495 dollars. Almost all trains are included, trams, buses and boats are also included.
WOW!
Seems like a lot but it is cheaper than a decent car, I guess. Thanks for sharing!
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American You also have what they call «P+Rail» (Park and Rail). You have pretty big or important Parkings for your car around an important transport hub (Train station) and then you can drive with your car there, park your car and jump in a metro, a tram or a transit system right at the same place of the parking slot.
It allows you to use your car because sometimes, it's the only way to deal with distance, up to a train station. And then do the biggest part by train.
Depending on where you live and work people don't necessarily buy the full General Fare subscription but only for a part of the network, which makes them a lot cheaper.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American don't forget gas prices and maintenance!
How many miles per gallon, how many miles per year? Is it more or less than $5000?
@@Average_Middle_Aged_Americandepending on where you live, it’s at least almost a car replacement. For the little stuff (food, clothing, etc. there’s usually stores on your commute so you pick up the dinner ingredients on the way from work and most reasonably sized items (TV, lamp, …) you CAN take on public transport (just don’t do it at rush hour and you’ll probably get a weird look or two but it’s legal and doable) and for the one time a year you need a lot of big stuff right now, there’s cheap rental cars or someone has a car. But with a little bit of willingness to get things in smaller doses, you can live without a car. Hell, my grandma never even bothered getting a license and made it to 85ish
about the payment options. everything is divided into zones and you can buy for example one day passes for multiple zones. and you can now ride those zones as much as you want until the day is over. or you can also buy for a 4 digit sum a year subscription and just ride any train to anywhere for a full year. the thing i use most of the time is the easy ride app that you can just activate when you hop in and deactivate when you get out of the train and it will charge you just for the single ride automatically. based on GPS information.
@@HDSpaceFox - Awesome!
❤ from 🇨🇭
Back at you!
Thanks for checking out my channel!
You asked if the train run 24/7, they run every day from ~5:00am to ~1:00am the next day. So it's 20h out of 24h.
We also use our cars in Switzerland ^^, indeed when you need to shop a lot a things at the same time and you live in the countryside you use the car.
For me that live outside a city, if I want to go to the mall, I use the car, if I need to go in the city close to me I know where to park, but if I want to go further, in another city I don't want to drive in a place I don't know well and stress about finding a parking space that does not cost an arm, so I use the train departing from the city next to me.
Sounds great. Nice to have a choice. Thanks for replying and checking out my channel!
Major connections (Luzern to Zürich for example) and city connections also usually run hourly after 1am until 5am with no upcost anymore (changed like 8 years ago, before it costed like 5 bucks more), but I can only speak for central switzerland here.
@IronFlasher99 - Thanks for the update. Sounds great.
Energy and heating costs have been almost back to pre-war levels for a while now.
"Germany Consumer Price Index: Energy (I:GCPIENM)
152.10 for May 2024.
97.40 in Jan 2021.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American
Now my mother bought her heating oil cheaper than it had been for several years.
And I got so much back from the service charges (€70 per month advance payment) and from the electricity provider (€30 per month). Gasoline prices also reasonably normal again. I don't know where your figures come from.
@@arnodobler1096 - lol
@@arnodobler1096it’s the German price index, German prices went up significantly while swiss proces stayed steadily high
18:37 you:🙄
😂
@@arnodobler1096 Ein wenig dünnhäutig unser Freund bei ein wenig Kritik verdreht er die Augen 👀
@@wietholdtbuhl6168 😜 ja schon ein bisschen
I AM NOT THIN SKINNED!!!
🤣
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American okay 👍
he was most likely talking about public transport/traffic on the street and not about NA being terrible in general
See more video's of 'Not Just Bikes' of how the Dutch use their bikes and even transport big things on a bike.
Not Just Bikes also has a video about Ikea in the Netherlands and cycling to the store.
Btw in Europe pick-up trucks aren't driven by common people, mainly by businesses.
And Europe doesn't have zoning restrictions like the US has. So a grocery shop in Europe is only a bike ride or short walk from your home.
I will check them out. You have to have some zoning, right? Someone can’t open a tire shop next to your home, can they?
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American In the Netherlands and I think in other European countries too don’t have zoning restrictions for pure residential, shopping or industrial.
In the Netherlands check the environmental plan at the local council to know what you can and cannot do at the location. Also check which permits you need. And look at the environmental regulations (for every kind pollution etc) and local taxes.
A business owner applies for a permit at the city council and they publishes 6 weeks before granting the permit in the local weekly free newspaper. People then can object to this permit and if the city council agrees with the objections the permit is denied, when there are no objections the permit granted.
That is why our city centers and residential neighborhoods are of mixed use.
You can find a community center, grocery store, primary school, gas station, small shopping center in residential areas.
Our city centers are living city centers with shops on the ground floor and residential apartments above. Historically the shop owner lived above his shop.
ua-cam.com/video/9YhnnVZzOus/v-deo.html
Watch this video of a small shopping center in Delfzijl which has been build 14 years ago. One side there are rental apartments and the other side are apartments you buy.
Even an old peoples home is located near this shopping center
ua-cam.com/video/hVSQ7MWsZRo/v-deo.html
This video is of the city center of Delfzijl.
@@vast001 - Thanks!
I have an annual travelcard for public transport in Switzerland. This is paid for by my employer as I live in Basel and work in Zurich.
The train journey takes 53 minutes and I have to be in the office twice a week.
The advantage of this travelcard is that I can use any means of public transport in any part of Switzerland. Bus, streetcar, boat no matter where and no matter how often.
Cool!
I like your open minded attitude towards a somewhat unfamiliar concept.
Thanks! Posting videos on castles and cathedrals right now.
Installation costs for solar are all over the place in Switzerland. Friend of mine recently added 12 panels to his roof, fortunately hes professionally capable of doing it himself. For the sake of it, he still got some offers, the installation cost was from 60k to 120k CHF (70k to 140k $). Its a very high demand and still a bit of a side hustle for many companies. Its not in a good spot.
@@m0nk3yscr4tch - WOW! Thanks for sharing.
Yes people would buy yearly passes to get the best value for their money. Usually they might just buy a pass for their commute or their region, but there is indeed a pass for the whole country and every mode of transport for I believe around $4000 per year. They don't run 24/7 as maintenance work is done during the night, but there are night trains at the weekends. Also many, in fact most people in Switzerland still use their cars because even with high quality public transport it has its limits. Obviously people would use a car to go to a "Home Improvement Store". Personally I am a big fan of public transport here as it is very useful, you can get everywhere, and it saves me a lot of money because I don't need to own a car. But lately I've also become fed up with its limitations especially since I moved away from Zurich. For example I had to go to the electronics store that's 2 km away, so not even 1,5 miles - by car that would take 6 minutes. with the city bus it takes around 20 minutes because of the difficult topology of where I live and the connection at the mainstation. Same thing for visiting my parents - that would take 2 hours by train and 1 hour by car. Of course, those are cherrypicked bad examples, there are plenty of routes where public transport works a lot better, but for many connections this is the reality.
I can see the value of options for sure!
I own an old chalet with big garden where quite some work must be done. I had never a car and don't drive, but I own a yearly pass 1st class, which is much better. For transportation of smaller goods I use a cart mounted to my bicycle or I go with into regional trains. No problem. Bigger goods are delivered. Correction: at small stations, the frequency in one direction is most often only one per hour. Buses even less at non-rush-hours.
I am 50 years old, i am living without a car, public transport, sometimes a taxi or uber, if i have to transport something, i hire a car or let bring the things. No problems here in Switzerland.
@@gerardschnueriger5624 Hi! Do you own a home or rent?
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American i own a little appartment
@gerardschnueriger5624 - It is the hardware store that always makes me thankful for my large SUV. Of course, we dont have a great train system like Switzerland, just a lot of roads and gas stations. 😀
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American of course, its not fair to compare the two countries, Switzerland is very little.
60% of the energy consumption is from water power, so why you see all these reservoir lakes in the mountains. Solar we have more in the cities or in in industry areas. In a lot of this small houses in the alps you have high restrictions if you want to change anything because a lot of them are cultural protected and you have too keep them more or less like they are.... but there are some plans to build some solar fields in the mountain areas, but then you get problem with NGOs etc. Switzerland as a country is packed with people compared to their size. So every squaremeter of land is a fight between different interest groups. Living, Agriculture, Energie, Flora/Fauna protection, historucal, cultural etc....
@@smolli91 - Thanks!
Do you want to see what it’s like to live in Switzerland? These are Canadians who decided to make their home in Switzerland! :) ua-cam.com/video/KSygGq6DitU/v-deo.html
@@sebastienoberson4200 - Thanks
The fact that even American people doesn't even know the basic of good transportation is crazy for me😂 i mean where their tax even go? we in Europe, East Asia even South East Asian are racing to build good public transportation, meanwhile American people were like "well yeah they have higher costs of living" Or "how about the heater, they rise heater bill there right? " and many more excuse😂 is kinda sad to see how American people doesn't even know by having good public transportation, everything become more accessible and by giving people the opportunity to work without worrying about having traffic, car, or where to park their car all the time, more people get to work fast, more people can do their business faster, and more people commute faster. Meaning more money generated.
@daviano_R.T. - our taxes are lower than most European countries, so ot is apples and oranges. As far as living costs, most Americans that are complaining have never been outside the country to compare lifestyles.
@Average_Middle_Aged_American yeah, i understand that, one of my friend that came from America that i firstly meet in Singapore also said the same thing, most Americans didn't go outside their country (well except Canada mostly) But still Respectfully speaking, i wonder how isolated the media are in America to not know most countries outside the USA are racing to making sure their people at the very least have good public transportation. Knowing how much the U.S. get from tax alone, yet they didn't even have at the very least good public transportation is crazy, even country like Thailand have far better public transportation services than most of big city in the U.S.
@daviano_R.T. - just different lifestyles.
We have 300 million cars. There are a few high speed railways in the works. Florida, California, Nevada of the top of my head. We have a long way to go.
Who catches a train to go to a home improvement store? It’s not a case of train or car.
That picture is a DUTCH train...lol.
Wasn't me. 🙂
Im Not Sure but i guess Ur thumbnail and first Minute Shows the nederlands trains
I have heard that. 😀
Bad comparison Personal transportation verses shoping tours. Most of the peopels dont go on big shopintours whit a train. But if you go to work or visite soneone that is the way to go whit the train.
It is nice to have a choice between car and train.
Hello 👋 I know that Sheldon Cooper loves the American Train System 😊
Well, he loves flags too! 😂🙋♂
@@arnodobler1096 Fun with Flags!Always nice 👍 to hear from you!
@@wietholdtbuhl6168 ebenalls!
I lost the flag post race.
Funfact: In the intro of The Big Bang Theory is a Train from Switzerland! 😂
We can hire cars/vans as needed. Cheaper than buying them and paying insurance etc. When the public transport and biking infra is as developed as this you wouldnt drive everyday and children can play outside alone.
Yeah switzerland is hella expensive in general. At least for internationals. They also earn very very well, so it evens out for them, but I'm from germany and whenever I go to switzerland I'll definitely need to have a look on how much I'm spending. Many southern germans at the border work in switzerland for the higher wages but live in germany for the cheaper cost of living, that's one of the benefits of having the free movement of people without border checks. Switzerland isn't part of the EU, but effectively has joined the Schengen Area nonetheless
Overall, the maker of the video sees everything from the perspective of a relaxed tourist who is in a landscape that is new to him. As a tourist, you naturally enjoy the great landscape during unplanned breaks. Would a Swiss businessman also be so relaxed if he missed an important appointment because of a train delay? Hardly. Or if someone wants to do a quick bit of shopping after work, but then can't get to the supermarket in time because of the train delay? In Switzerland, too, no one will transport a new kitchen home on the train. Instead, they will use an SUV or a van.
In Switzerland, too, depending on life circumstances, there are certainly situations where it is more advisable to use a car. Just like in every country. It always depends on your individual personal circumstances. Where do you live, where do you work, are you alone or are you part of a family, etc.
Overall, however, it is more common in Europe to use the train as a means of transport. Not just in Switzerland. As mentioned in the video, the Swiss railways are certainly the best in Europe. Reliable, punctual, clean, comfortable, safe.
And above all, the Swiss people probably wanted the railway to become one of the best in Europe.
But the railway is only one part of the quality of life in Switzerland. In Switzerland, everything just works 😎
Best wishes to wonderful Switzerland!
Thanks for commenting!
Best wishes to you as well!
A businessman who misses a connection can still work while waiting for the next train. He cannot do it while stuck in a traffic jam unless he has a driver.
Its superb..... u can go met girls from every dörfli😅
You look so bored the whole time
@eco7th - i was not bored, just not known to be bubbly. LOL. I'm working on it.
@@Average_Middle_Aged_American You're fine, just be yourself. Don't be fake just because someone wants you to be more “entertaining”. Everyone is the way they are.
Theres tooo less sun in switzerland for solar!!!😂
bullshit