Did you know that Switzerland has around 65'000 kilometres of hiking trails? That's about 1.5 times the circumference of the earth! A huge number of municipalities and volunteer organisations maintain the hiking trails and offer hikes in all the cantons.
Bus Bang-Up; Political Fête Raises Eyebrows; Public Transport Ticket Machines To Be Replaced
News For 26 September 2023
It would appear that public transportation mishaps are "having a moment" in Basel. Last Friday night, a BVB bus travelling from the Basel Euroairport to SBB had to make a sudden stop when a private vehicle made a sudden u-turn in front of the bus. In order to avoid a collision, the driver of the bus engaged the emergency brakes causing five passengers to fall and sustain injuries - two of whom were taken to hospital. The incident bears an eerie similarity to another last week, where a tram making a sudden stop for an ambulance - had to transfer the resulting injured passenger from the tram...to the ambulance.
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On December 4th, the two highest offices in Switzerland: the presidency of the Council of States and the presidency of the National Council, will be occupied by representatives of the Basel region. Eric Nussbaumer and Eva Herzog, both representing the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland were elected to the posts. The cantonal governments of Basel Stadt and BaselLand thought a celebration to be held at the St. Jakobshalle, intended for December 6, was in order and pledged 480,000 to cover the costs. The idea however, has caused some alarm, as the amount greatly exceeds the costs of any prior celebratory event, and is drawn from tax revenues.
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The BVB, Basel's public transportation authority, is considering tenders for the 470 ticket machines located at bus and tram stations throughout its service area. The existing machines will be phased out after 20 years of service in 2027. Some of the new features the tram operator is considering, as other canton's have, are: contactless payment, and phasing out paper tickets.