Hello, I’m planning to visit Bern on a one-day trip, and I have some questions about the validity of the Friends Day Pass. 1. My plan is to travel from Domodossola. The validity map says that it’s included (I saw in a previous post on this blog that the map is the correct reference), but when I asked the official SBB chatbot, it said that the pass is valid only within Switzerland. I couldn’t find any other sources about this. 2. It seems that the Friends Day Pass also allows the use of local transport in Bern. Could you confirm this? Thanks in advance for your help.

Friends Day Pass from Domodossola and for local transport in Bern

gcmGiacomo

Hello,
I’m planning to visit Bern on a one-day trip, and I have some questions about the validity of the Friends Day Pass.

My plan is to travel from Domodossola. The validity map says that it’s included (I saw in a previous post on this blog that the map is the correct reference), but when I asked the official SBB chatbot, it said that the pass is valid only within Switzerland. I couldn’t find any other sources about this.
It seems that the Friends Day Pass also allows the use of local transport in Bern. Could you confirm this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

RedBaron

gcmGiacomo
The chatbot is wrong in this case, never trust any KI, if you don’t know the used data source. The validity map is the trusted reference information for your 1. question.
Ad 2.) Of course local buses or tramways belonging to regional fare networks are generally also included in the GA validity area (friends pass).

Note that the friends pass and other ‘GA like’ day passes do not grant any discount on ‘touristic’ mountain rides not included in the GA area (as opposed to the real 1-year GA travelcard).

gcmGiacomo

RedBaron
First of all, thank you for your detailed answer. How can I tell which trains I can use with the Pass? From Domodossola, the SBB site shows two options: the RE1 line or the EC. I assume both are covered by the Pass.

RedBaron

gcmGiacomo I assume both are covered by the Pass

Yes they are. While in other countries different tariffs/tickets might apply for different trains on the same route, in Switzerland (GA validity map area) the price is always the same. Publishing such a validity map would not be possible if countless exceptions would exist for all those travelcards.