Zurich - Disabled Travel, Disabled Access and Mobility, Embassies, Emergency Services

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Disabled Facilities, Access & Mobility

Information for travellers with disabilities is surprisingly hard to come by in Zurich. What's more, following a recent nationwide referendum, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to give the disabled better access to public buildings. Consequently, less than 30 per cent of public buildings across Switzerland are fully accessible to the disabled.

That said, it's worth contacting Mobility International Schweiz, Froburgstrasse 4, CH-4600 Olten, Tel: +41 (0)62 206 88 35, Fax: +41 (0)62 206 88 39, E-Mail: info@mis-ch.ch for further information on disabled facilities, access and mobility in Zurich.

Although the organisation's website lacks useful information in English (which is put down to a lack of funding), a links page does give details of organisations offering independent/group travel to Zurich including www.canbedone.co.uk (with additional information also available in German and French).

In addition, Zurich Tourism provides a list of Swiss organisations that offer information/services to disabled travellers at: www.zuerich.com.

So far as arriving in Zurich is concerned, facilities at the airport include lowered telephones, counters and Internet terminals, wheelchair-accessible restrooms, toilets and lifts (with the new E-gate terminal extension being particularly well-designed). Disabled parking spaces are also available in car park B, while a dedicated assistance desk is located in departures for travellers with special needs (Tel: (0)1 812 6364).

Bus/Tram/S-Bahn/InterCity Train and Taxi Access

Zurich's official body for integrated public transport, the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), together with Verkehrsbetriebe Zurich (VBZ) (which operates trams and buses in the city) have embarked upon an ambitious scheme to improve local travel for passengers with disabilities. Visitors to Zurich will therefore see some benefits in 2006, although the completion date for fully upgrading facilities and rolling stock (including the phasing out of older units) will not be until 2014.

Currently, older buses are inaccessible due to stepped entry doors, although low-floor buses (Niederflurbus) are being phased in on some routes (from 30.06.03 bus lines 29, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 64, 79, 71 and 73 now operate Niederflurbus units at various times during the day). However, you'll still need to call: 0848 988,988 to find out when suitable buses are in the locality and, even then, availability of such services is not guaranteed.

Significant improvements will also be made to the city's tram network, thanks to an agreement with Bombardier Transportation to provide 68 low-floor Cobra trams (following a successful test of six pre-production trial vehicles delivered in 2001). Scheduled for delivery in 2006, each new unit will offer wider entry doors and a passenger boarding height of just 35 centimetres (which is considerably lower when platform height is taken into account).

For wheelchair-friendly taxis, contact Zurich Disabled Transport, Tel: (01) 461 3866. Fares are 6 CHF plus 3.20 CHF per kilometre (with a compulsory service charge of 15% also added to the fare). In addition, tixi-taxi (German only website) offers mobility services for residents of Zurich on an annual membership basis.

On S-Bahn and InterCity rail services, boarding arrangements should be made in advance with Swiss Federal Railways (www.sbb.ch). The company's dedicated call centre, Tel: 0800 007 102 (if you're in Switzerland) or +41 512 25 71 50 (if overseas) require at least 1 hour's notice before the train's scheduled departure time or, in the case of the following stations, 2 hours notice:

Altstätten SG, Amriswil, Andelfingen, Brunnen, Flüelen, Frick, Glarus, Göschenen, Heerbrugg, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle, Muri AG, Payerne, Porrentruy, Schwyz, Sonceboz-Sombeval, Saint-Imier, Saint-Ursanne, Uznach, Vallorbe, Wattwil, Wohlen, Ziegelbrücke, Zurzach

Where requests are faxed or e-mailed to: mobil@sbb.ch please give at least 24 hours notice of your intended travel arrangements. When contacting SBB, the following details should also be given:

Forename and surname, telephone number, date of travel and destination, preferred departure/arrival times, indication as to the nature of your disability.

For further information please visit: www.cff.ch/pv/mobil_e.htm (dedicated page for travellers with disabilities).

Exploring Zurich and Switzerland

Railway stations at Aarau, Baden, Basle CFF, Bern, Bienne, Frauenfeld, Freiburg, Liestal, Lugano, Lucerne, Morat, Neuchâtel, Olten, Pfäffikon SZ, Rapperswil, Saint-Gall, Schaffhouse, Soleure, Thoune, Weinfelden, Winterthur, Yverdon, Zurich-Airport and Zurich (Hauptbahnhof) allow visually impaired travellers to find their way to platforms using fixed metal Braille plates, while staircase handrails, elevators and escalators at both Bern and Zurich stations have been designed with easy orientation in mind.

For those with hearing impairments, many stations are fitted with an inductive loop for use with telecoil hearing aids (ensure that your hearing apparatus is switched to the "T" position).

For wheelchair users, most InterCity and normal-gauge trains in Switzerland (incl. ICE, TGV, CIS, EC, IC, IR) have 2nd class (or 1st class) cars equipped with a wheelchair compartment. Each are identified accordingly.

Further information will be added to this section shortly [posted 15 Dec 2003].

Hotels for Visitors with Disabilities

A good number of Zurich hotels offer at least one wheelchair-accessible room for travellers with disabilities. As our own site offers online booking for hotels in Zurich, we'll be happy to advise you on finding a suitable room for your stay. Just e-mail us at: support@talkingcities.co.uk and we'll do the rest!

If you're interested in a hotel not listed here, be sure to ask the following questions before making a reservation:

i) does 'accessible' mean that spaces, furniture and doors within a room have been thoughtfully designed? Or has the manager simply asked for grab handles to be fitted in the toilet/bathroom and nothing more?

ii) are all parts of the hotel i.e. reception, restaurant/bar areas, saunas, solariums, swimming pools accessible to disabled guests?

iii) are lift doors wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair?

And, if you can, ask for details about heights, widths and depths for doors, light switches, sinks, baths, toilets, emergency alarms and elevators.

Discounts

See getting there.

Eating Out

Our comprehensive guide to the best cafés, bars and restaurants in Zurich (which include direct website/e-mail links to individual establishments and over 100 reviews) can be found in our food and drink section.

Electric Current

Plugs in Switzerland are the standard (two pronged) continental type, using 220-volt current (50 cycles A/C). Visitors from the UK need only buy a two pin plug adapter to use British 240V electrical goods, whereas North American travellers with 110V appliances also need a current transformer. Modern equipment such as PC notebooks work equally well on both currents, although it's advisable to check operating instructions before travelling.

Embassies in Switzerland

Australian Consulate-General - Chemin des Fins 2, Case postale 172, 1211 Geneva 19, Tel. +41 (0) 22 799 9100, Fax. +41 (0)22 799 9178, Website: www.australia.ch
British Embassy - Thunstrasse 50, CH-3000, Tel: +41 (0)31 359 77 41, Fax: +41 (0)31 359 77 01. For visa/passport services visit the British Consulate General
37-39 Rue de Vermont, 1211 Geneva 20, Tel: +41 (0)22 918 24 00, Fax: +41 (0)22 918 23 22, Website: www.britain-in-switzerland.ch
Canadian Embassy - Kirchenfeldstrasse 88, CH-3005 Bern, Tel: +41 (0)31 357 32 00, Fax: +41 (0)31 357 32 10, Website: www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
French Embassy - Schosshaldenstrasse 46, CH-3006 Berne, Tel: +41 (0)31 359 21 11, Fax: +41 (0)31 359 21 91, Website: www.ambafrance-ch.org
German Embassy - Postfach 2 50, 3000 Bern 16, Tel: +41 (0)31 359 41 11, Fax: +41 (0)31 359 44 44, Website: http://www.bern.diplo.de
Hungarian Embassy - Muristrasse 31, CH-3006 Bern, Tel: +41 (0)31 352 85 72, FAx: +41 (0)31 351 20 01, Website: www.hungemb.ch
US Consular Services - Jubilaumsstrasse 95, CH-3005 Bern, Switzerland, Tel: 0900 87 84 72, Website: http://bern.usembassy.gov/

Note: all numbers should be prefixed by +41 if calling from overseas.

For countries with embassies not listed in the above table, check out www.embassyworld.com for further information.

Emergency Services

Dial the following numbers to connect to Zurich's emergency services:

Police (Stadtpolizei) 117, Ambulance (Rettung) 144, Fire Brigade (Feuerwehr) 118.

Flight Times

Please click for approximate flight times based on Swiss scheduled services.