Author: switzerlandtimes.ch
Motorways across much of Switzerland are clogged at peak times. Recently, the federal government agreed to expand key trunk routes to six lanes. In response, members of the Green Party (and others) started organising a vote against spending CHF 5.3 billion on wider roads. This week, they reached the required number of signatures to call a popular vote, reported SRF. According to vote organisers, more roads will mean more cars. The CHF 5.3 billion would be better invested in sustainable forms of transport, for example a shift from road to rail, they say. Not everyone agrees. Certain members of the…
On 12 January 2024, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced the donation of as many as 78 trams to the Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Vinnytsa. The cities of Bern and Zurich will provide 11 and up to 67 decommissioned but fully operational trams respectively. SECO will organise and finance the transport of the trams to Ukraine as well as organise and fund employee training on the vehicles. The trams, which are expected to be delivered in late summer, are in good condition and could be used for a further 10 to 12 years. The trams from Bern…
Electric car sales continue to rise in Switzerland. In 2023, the percentage of total new cars registered that were electric rose to 20.9%, up from 17.3% in 2022, reported Swiss eMobility. At 1 January 2024, 163,511 electric cars were registered in Switzerland, around 3% of the total cars on Swiss roads. German-speaking Switzerland was the most enthusiastic about electric cars. In the canton of Zurich, 25.8% of newly registered cars in 2023 were electric, 5.1 percentage points above the national average. In 2023, the most popular electric cars in Switzerland were: TESLA MODEL Y (6,174 newly registered) SKODA ENYAQ (5,167)…
Solar power production will make up 10% of the electricity consumed in Switzerland in 2024, estimates the association Swissolar. 2023 was a good year for the expansion of Switzerland’s solar power capacity, which rose 40% from 2022. The strong performance was partly driven by sharply rising electricity costs. The median price across Switzerland shot up 28.5% between 2022 and 2023. These high prices prompted companies and consumers to move forward with plans to install solar panels. For consumers, solar panel installation was often combined with a switch to an electric heat pump or the purchase of an electric vehicle. In…
It is currently illegal to produce fois gras of fur in Switzerland. However, these products can still be imported into the country. Two referenda, which recently passed the 100,000 minimum signature hurdle, are now set to be put before voters, reported RTS. Both initiatives are aimed at reducing animal cruelty. Fois gras is produced by restraining and force feeding geese excessive amounts of food. Nearly every nation in Europe has banned the production of fois gras. Only France, Hungary and Bulgaria still allow the practice. In Switzerland it has been banned for more than 40 years. The federal government has…
The weather in Switzerland in 2023 was volatile. 2023 began mildly with highs of around 20 °C and a pronounced lack of snow in the mountains. Spring brought record rain, and summer began with the lowest rainfall since measurements began. Heat waves followed by heavy rainfall fell on southern and eastern Switzerland in July and August. September and October brought record heat followed by heavy rainfall in southern and western Switzerland. North of the Alps it was very wet in November and the first two weeks of December, reported Meteo Swiss. By the end of the year, the national average…
More than seven years after a slim majority (51.9%) of the UK electorate voted to leave the EU, Switzerland and the UK have agreed a deal that clears the way to more open cooperation in the financial services sector, helping to restore the pre-Brexit arrangement between the two nations. On Thursday, Switzerland and the UK announced an agreement to improve trade in financial services between the two nations, reported RTS. Although Switzerland is not an EU member it has agreements with Brussels that make it in many ways effectively a member. These agreements streamlined the flow of financial services trade…
Households typically need most electricity in the evening after the sun has set. This means the solar electricity created during the day needs to be stored somewhere. The challenge with car batteries is the need for high performance. Cars need range and rapid power delivery. This means car batteries with less than 80% of the capacity are no longer useful in cars. The Swiss company UpVolt spied an opportunity to use these old car batteries to power homes, reported SRF. The company has been collecting old car batteries and putting them together in shipping containers and hooking them up to…
On 14 December 2023, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it was ending its interest rate tightening cycle after a clear slowdown in inflation. With inflation rising more slowly than the central bank’s 2% ceiling (it was 1.4% in November 2023), the SNB left its key interest rate at 1.75% for a second consecutive meeting. While the SNB is still willing to intervene in currency markets by buying and selling Swiss francs, Jordan said that can go in both directions and the SNB is no longer focusing on selling francs. Even though the SNB doesn’t forecast inflation to rise above…
With all of the price hikes in Switzerland it is difficult to believe inflation is running at around 2% (it was 1.4% in November 2023). Health insurance premiums in 2024 are on average 8.7% higher than they were in 2023. Now Swiss car insurance is set to get more costly. The insurance advisor VZ predicts an average rise of 15% for vehicle insurance in 2024, reported RTS. The average expected rise is 15%. However, some premiums may rise by as much as 50%, said VZ. One reason behind the rise seems to be inflation. New car prices have jumoped by…