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Thursday 21 February 2013

Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland

The city of Luzern is in German-speaking central Switzerland.  It is believed to have been founded in the 12th Century.  Nestling in the foothills of the Alps, at the end of Lake Luzern, it is a picturesque city which attracts several million visitors annually.  It is a few years since I was one of those visitors, having last been to Luzern in 2007.

Luzern's local transport network is co-ordinated by Vehrkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) (website in German language only).

There are no trams in Luzern, the last one ran in 1961.  The public transport network is provided with buses and trolleybuses.  Most services converge outside the main railway station, which forms an integrated transport hub.

Of the buses, some are articulated:


Others are standard single deckers.  Some are short-length midibuses while others, such as this one in a promotional livery, are full length. 


The trolleybus fleet includes standard single-deckers.  Some of these tow trailers to provide additional capacity as well as low-floor access:








 








Although the trolleybus+trailer combination is very unusual, it is not unique - the same combination can be found in another Swiss city, Lausanne.

Luzern also has a number of articulated trolleybuses.  Three of them are double-articulated. 

 













Fares on Luzern's transport network are integrated between bus, trolleybus and rail, and are based on a zonal system.  Other than a "short hop" fare, single tickets are valid for transfers within a time limit which varies according to how many zones you pass through.

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