Editor’s note: Park City Councilor Bill Ciraco is chronicling his exploration of public transportation in Europe in a series of commentaries. This is the second.
After two days on the streets of Zurich, I have seen enough Porsches, M Class BMWs, and Mercedes G-Wagons to know these people do love their cars. They have decided, though, that cars should be for enjoyment and their lives should not be a slave to them.
There is one way to accomplish that, with Mercedes-level public transit that serves everyone regardless of economic class. Zurich is a city of 400,000 people with 1.3 million in its urban area. The transit system provides over 500 million rides per year, which gives Zurich among the highest per-capita usages of transit in the world.
Riding the S-Bahn, or light rail (think Traxx), around Zurich was a joy. It reminded me of riding the 6 train (subway) in New York City on my way to work in Midtown. Any given morning you’d have bankers, lawyers, teachers, craftsmen and laborers riding the train. he common thread tying these disparate groups together was the convenience and speed of getting around town without the hassle of a car.
Zurich street cars travel about 20 mph, with stops usually a quarter to a half-mile apart. If you were at the farthest point between stops, you’d have a five- or six-minute walk at most. This means you can travel two miles across town in about 15-20 minutes. The beauty of Zurich’s system is it fans out in all directions from the train station (Hauptbahnhof) and the waterfront on Lake Zurich. This part of town is known as Altstadt, or “Old City.”
Due to the confluence of transit options, much of Altstadt is carless by design or by default. You simply can’t beat the collection of six streetcar lines accessible from Bahnhofstrasse, or Main Street, through old town Zurich. There is a three-mile radius of dense public transit, which is why most of central Zurich feels essentially car free.
The Swiss have also innovated, I’ve noticed since my last visit here five years ago. The newer S-Bahn streetcars have air conditioning! However, the greatest innovation by the agency which oversees transit in Zurich is the unified fare card. You can access all of the mentioned forms of transit with one card. This removes friction and makes it easy to rely on public transport.
I made my way all over Zurich, including on a ferry on Lake Zurich, at “rush hour.” This would be my new favorite way to commute to work. I did not have occasion to ride the commuter rail in this time. These trains are all electric, and whisper quiet. A Tesla makes more noise.
What I learned in Zurich is that areas served by transit with multiple lines have evolved to become places where people congregate, share meals and create community, and if you want to opt out it is easy to do. Just put your AirPods in and listen to a podcast. Transit gives us that choice. It feeds the social and cultural lifeblood of a place be it big or small.
Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front have done a great job over the past 28 years investing in a public transit network with Frontrunner Rail, Traxx Light Rail and buses. In the 1990s the state and the city seized the opportunity to tap into federal monies to fund these investments ahead of the 2002 Olympics.
By most measures, state transportation leaders will tell you that these investments have been a success. To which I say now is the time to double down. There is a tremendous vitality in Zurich, and public transport is its lifeblood.
Renewed investment in public transit, particularly on our fixed route services (Frontrunner, Traxx) would allow Utah to build a dense and frequent network of options that prove liberating to its residents (and its growing pool of visitors, too.)
I was cautioned by someone familiar with the transit leadership in the state to be careful about comparing Salt Lake and Utah to other places in the world. “The people here think they have done a pretty good job,” I was told. To that I say, yes, yes indeed they have and I am so thankful they have, but when we look across the state border or even across the country, it is obvious that the bar is set very low.
Next, I make it into the mountains of Switzerland and what I experienced is spellbinding. …
https://www.zuerich.com/en/visit/getting-around-in-zurich/public-transport-in-zuerich