The success of the TNW

A user-friendly system of attractive offers at affordable prices is our guarantee for greater customer uptake: yesterday, today, always.

The central product of the TNW is the U-Abo Subscription, allowing holders to travel throughout the entire TNW region whenever and wherever they wish. It’s not surprising that three out of four people who travel the network are already subscribers. At our launch of more than 30 years ago, our objective was clear: to allow as many people as possible to travel using public transport. We are proud to note that this goal has been achieved, as the figures testify. In 2006, we exceeded a major milestone: two million monthly U-Abo Subscription for the first time, corresponding to 30 percent of region’s population. Marketing and communications have also become increasingly important. The TNW partners have recognised this and, in recent years, have evolved from a purely price-setting network into one where price strategy and marketing are interconnected. In addition to the business of managing prices and distribution, they have also taken on the role of communicating the benefits of public transport. At its heart is the inescapable offer of a cost-effective service. As a result, public transport has seen both great expansion and rapid improvements in recent years. A great part of this success is also due to the engagement and contribution of legislative bodies at both cantonal and municipal levels.

The TNW's field of operations does not stop at the Swiss border. Solid partnerships including the mutual subscription acknowledgements with affiliates in Germany and France who share our goals meet increasingly interdependent mobility requirements within the three-nation triangle. With the introduction of the new distribution system, cross-border tickets can be bought at all ticket machines: in reality, the creation of a single, tri-national pricing structure. Future important areas for development include sophisticated systems used to communicate transport options and the use of digital customer information systems.

With its commitment to a lean organisation, the TNW is able to keep its customers and their needs always in focus: an ongoing mission that we will never change.