Getting Around Geneva: An Easy Way to Buy Geneva’s Public Transportation Tickets

 Text 788 and Hop On

If you have a cell phone plan that works in Switzerland, riding Geneva’s public transportation system is easy. Just send one of the following codes, indicating the type of ticket you want to buy, to 788:
– tpg1 for a “Tout Genève” full fare ticket: 3.00 Swiss francs
– tpg2 for a “Tout Genève” reduced fare ticket: 2.00 Swiss francs

TPG (Transports Publics Genevois) will then send you a text message back with your virtual ticket.
The tickets listed above are valid for one hour after purchase. You can make as many bus and tram transfers as you like — even an entire round trip — within that hour.
Good to know: Ticket price is the same whether you purchase it by text or at a TPG ticket machine. Tickets bought via text are added to your next phone bill (at no extra charge, unless your plan does not include messaging to Switzerland). You must buy your ticket before boarding.
If you want to take one of the public ferries, called mouettes, opt for a “Saut de Puce” ticket (valid for short trips up to 3 stops, 2.00 CHF).

TPG also has a very handy smartphone app that includes:

• timetables for all bus and tram lines
• Geneva’s public transportation stops and lines near your current location — very practical, Le Colibry gets a lot of use out of this feature
• single-trip tickets and day passes for sale (there are different codes for each ticket type, which you can look up within the app)
• traffic information
• an itinerary planner

More information: www.tpg.ch