A small-town ambience, pure nature and a rich history – that’s what the communities of Frauenfeld and Winterthur stand for.
Frauenfeld is located amid the beautiful countryside of Thurgau and is therefore the ideal place for nature lovers. Apart from that, the town also has plenty of other things to offer: a picturesque old town, attractions such as the Frauenfeld Castle and the Plättli Zoo, and a wide range of cultural activities. The city is moreover internationally known for the annual Frauenfeld OpenAir, which has become the largest hip-hop festival in Europe.
Winterthur is the sixth-largest city in Switzerland. Despite its industrial tradition, today it impresses above all with its first-class museums, countless gardens, parks and buildings steeped in history. Winterthur also holds a very special record: it has the largest continuous pedestrian zone in Europe. Ready for a walk?
However, if you want to fully explore Frauenfeld and Winterthur, there are even better ways. Both cities have an excellent bus network that makes it easy to reach any point without exhausting your feet.
Public transport in Frauenfeld
In Frauenfeld, PostBus operates the StadtBUS on behalf of the city of Frauenfeld. The route network is in zone 921 of the Ostwind tariff association. The buses run from the central transfer point at the railway station to all parts of the town about every 15 minutes. In addition, ten regional bus lines run from the station to the surrounding area, supplementing the city bus.
Public transport in Winterthur
The transport company Stadtbus Winterthur is integrated into the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV). The company operates 12 city lines that connect the city centre with all parts of the city and surrounding communities. Trolleybuses operate on the most frequented lines 1, 2 and 3. In addition, there are five regional lines and also several night buses, which ensure an almost 24-hour public transport coverage on the weekends.
ZVV – one ticket for everything
About 30 years ago, the ZVV was founded, aiming to unite individual public transport companies as part of one big entity. This was a clear advantage for travelers because as from then on, they could use all means of public transport in the association with just one ticket. At that time, this idea was unique in Switzerland and was rewarded with great success. Today the ZVV is the largest transport association in Switzerland and unites more than 50 transport companies under one organization. Every day, it moves more than 1.6 million people from A to B – whether by rail, road or water.
ZVV zones
The area of the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund is divided into individual fare zones. This means that you do not buy a ticket for a route from A to B, but rather a zone ticket. The price depends on the number of zones you travel through. Within these zones, you can undertake as many journeys as you like within the validity period of the ticket – and benefit from a continuous ticket, regardless of which means of transport you use. Winterthur is in zone 120 of the ZVV. However, this zone counts double in the price calculation, as the public transport network here is denser than average.
A single ticket in Winterthur costs CHF 3.10 for one hour and a day ticket CHF 6.20. Young people up to 16 years of age pay only half. Children under 6 even travel for free when accompanied by an adult.
ZVV tickets
The ZVV has the right ticket for every purpose. In addition to standard single tickets, there are also multi-trip tickets with which you can buy six trips at once. That doesn’t only save time, but also money – because on top of that you get a discount of 10% compared to a single trip. For day trips, 24hours are the ideal choice: as the name suggests, you can travel wherever and as often as you want for 24 hours within the purchased zones.
ZVV timetables
The ZVV public transport system runs in most cities at least every quarter of an hour, for almost 20 hours a day. At weekends, there is a continuous service of night buses that bring all night owls between 1.30 and 4.30 am safely to their destination.
Discover Frauenfeld and Winterthur with Whim
If you’re looking for a really comfortable way to explore Frauenfeld and Winterthur by public transport, then no one does the job better than Whim. It has everything you need in one app – from route planning to choosing your transport to buying tickets. Currently, you can access e-scooters from VOI and TIER with the Whim app. Additional mobility partners will follow shortly.
VOI E-Scooters
Whether in urban or rural areas, e-scooters (also called e-trottis) are in vogue. Frauenfeld and Winterthur also offer this form of eco-friendly mobility.
Especially in Frauenfeld, you can rent the red scooters from the Scandinavian provider VOI. It’s child’s play with the Whim app. The app shows you all available VOI scooters and their locations at a glance. To unlock a scooter close to you, simply select a vehicle on the map and tap on “Unlock E-Trotti/E-Scooter”. Alternatively, you can also unlock the scooter using the QR code on the handlebars. You can now ride the e-scooter as far as you like, as long as you are within the VOI business area.
The pricing is based on a pay-as-you-go system: After paying an activation fee of 1 CHF, you can ride for only 0.39 CHF per minute. This means that a ride with the e-scooter is also profitable for shorter distances.
TIER E-Scooters
In Winterthur, there are e-scooters from VOI as well as those from TIER. These are available around the clock and the booking process is similar and just as easy as with the e-scooters from VOI. Once again, you can unlock the scooter using the map or by scanning the QR code. A fee of CHF 0.40 is charged per minute of use.
Welcome to the SBB
When it comes to public transport, SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) cannot be left out. SBB AG is the largest transport company in Switzerland and has been moving people around the country reliably and in an environmentally friendly way for over 100 years. Thanks to the interval timetable, the major Swiss cities are connected every half hour, resulting in optimal transfer connections.
Unlike the ZVV, there are no zones here, but you buy route tickets. For example, a trip from Frauenfeld to Winterthur costs CHF 4.90.
Swisspass Advantages
The SwissPass is the chip card for SBB subscriptions. It is possible to load several subscriptions onto one card – be it a route, monthly or annual subscription. In addition, the SwissPass also offers access to partner services. For example, the Swisspass can also be used as a ski pass in many partner ski resorts.
In the ZVV, the following services are available on the SwissPass:
- NetzPass (annual and monthly pass).
- 9-UhrPass (annual and monthly season ticket)
- Z-Pass (annual and monthly season ticket)
- BonusPass (annual ticket)
As you see, there are so many ways to explore Winterthur and Frauenfeld by public transportation. You can find some of these mobility options in just one app with Whim. Download the Whim app now.
Out and about in Zurich? Find out the best way to get from A to B in Zurich.
Featured image: Claudio Schwarz via unsplash
Share
