Sustainable Mobility in Switzerland – Trends and Insights

Focus on regional initiatives

Reading Time:    5 Min.
Publication:        November 18, 2025, Jessy Thür

Switzerland faces a key challenge: the transport sector accounts for around 30 percent of the country's total CO₂ emissions. At the same time, however, mobility also offers enormous potential for innovation and change.

Starting point – Why is sustainable mobility so important?

In Switzerland, people travel an average of around 37 kilometers every day, and two-thirds of this distance is covered by car. Car traffic consumes a large proportion of the energy used in transport and is a key factor in greenhouse gas emissions. Against this backdrop, sustainable mobility does not simply mean “fewer cars,” but rather a shift toward public transportation, bicycles, walking, or shared forms of mobility.
For companies, the following applies: commuting, business trips, and commuter behavior have a major impact on overall mobility. Promoting targeted measures in companies can therefore be a lever.

Initiatives at the national and cantonal level

a) Support programs for innovative mobility projects

The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) provides support programs for testing new forms of mobility, particularly in rural areas or for modes of transport other than traditional car travel.

The MONAMO program (“Models for Sustainable Mobility”) is aimed specifically at municipalities and regions with up to 50,000 inhabitants. It supports new approaches to mobility outside established structures, such as car or bicycle sharing, multimodal transport solutions, and traffic avoidance.

b) Focus on corporate mobility

The Swiss Energy Platform also promotes mobility concepts in companies: it supports companies that want to change their mobility behavior, from the analysis phase to strategy development and communication. In addition, companies can apply for subsidies of up to CHF 50,000 for projects that change mobility habits—for example, through job ticket models, company bicycles, or commuter mobility.

Specific local examples

One exemplary project is the initiative launched by the Albert Köchlin Foundation in central Switzerland: the “smargo – Shared Micro Car” model is to be introduced in Lucerne, supported with CHF 50,000. At the same time, a project to promote walking among children in Altdorf is being funded with CHF 40,000.

There is also a lot happening in the field of electromobility and charging infrastructure: in 2023, Switzerland already had over 12,800 publicly accessible charging stations for electric vehicles – a sign that the path to “environmentally friendly mobility” is becoming increasingly visible.

What do these initiatives mean in practice?

Municipalities: Smaller municipalities often have limited resources, but thanks to programs such as MONAMO, they can launch their own mobility projects. This opens up scope for creative solutions – for example car-sharing models, bike rental, or improved public transport connections.

Companies: Here, too, mobility is not just a question of vehicles but also of organization and behavior. A company bicycle, a job ticket, or the promotion of active mobility can have an impact.

Support and incentive systems: Switzerland focuses on promotion rather than primarily on bans. This creates incentives for commitment and innovation. At the same time, it is clear that making mobility sustainable requires systems thinking (modal shift, sharing, new business and service models).

Challenges and outlook

The road ahead is not easy: according to a study by PwC Switzerland and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the potential for smart mobility solutions is there, but implementation requires reliable framework conditions and coordinated rules.
Furthermore, individual sacrifice alone is not enough. A systemic change is needed—networked mobility, expansion of sharing models, and rail and public transport-oriented infrastructure. And this applies to both urban and rural areas.

Mobility in transition

Sustainable mobility in Switzerland is no longer a future scenario but is already being actively shaped today through numerous initiatives at the municipal, corporate, and national levels. Support programs such as MONAMO and the offerings from Energy Switzerland are visibly supporting this transition. For municipalities, companies, and also for us as individuals, now is the time to question and help shape our own mobility patterns—whether through job tickets, e-mobility, car or bike sharing, or simply by making more conscious choices about how we travel.

All information provided without guarantee.

Image Sources: Image from rawpixel.com on Freepik

«www.yellowpages.swiss»