Passengers on Swiss Federal Railways are running into a problem when buying tickets with the mobile app.
The rules are strict – tickets can only be purchased before the train departs. However, some stations have poor mobile phone reception and sometimes the system takes a few moments to process the purchase.
Many have been told they have to pay a CHF 90 fine if they bought their tickets too late.
The transport ombudsman says he comes across the issue often.
The consumer protection organization, the SKS, is also aware. A spokeswoman says that for reasons of economy ‘we digitize as much as possible, and then apply it in a customer unfriendly way.’
For the same reasons, Deutsche Bahn in Germany allow 10 minutes after the train has departed.
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