The Swiss highway vignette
10/21/2019
While other countries have been discussing a toll system for years or building complex technical solutions, countries such as France and Italy have long had payment points on the highway where tolls are charged per section of road.
Not so in Switzerland, where a highway toll has been levied since 1985. Initially defined as a temporary charge, it was retained and is still payable today. It is paid by means of a "vignette", a small sticker. The vignette is valid for one calendar year. It initially cost CHF 30, until the price was increased to CHF 40 in a referendum in 1994. A further price increase was rejected by the people in 2013; the CHF 100 demanded was apparently too much for the voters.
Some tourists are reluctant to pay for the vignette in order to cross Switzerland on the highway. However, it should be borne in mind that traveling through France from Basel to Calais, for example, also costs around EUR 40 (CHF 50) each way. Compared to many other European countries, using the highways in Switzerland is cheap.
Austria, by the way, has a similar system, where the "Pickerl", as they call it, can be bought not only for a whole year, but also for 10 days.
