Survey June 2025

Valuable insights for VBZ passenger information.

Fault messages at the stop and real-time information up to the next departure – these are the most important travel information for VBZ passengers. This is shown by the survey conducted by the VBZ Passenger Voice in June 2025. A pleasing 76% of the people registered with the VBZ passenger vote took part in the second survey. The results paint a picture of the mood that is meaningful due to the high level of participation and provides us with important information for the further development of VBZ passenger information.

Topic: Push messages in the event of a malfunction

In the event of malfunctions, you can be actively informed via your smartphone. The prerequisite is to subscribe to the corresponding push messages. We therefore specifically asked about the use of the fault messages on the smartphone.

When it comes to fault reports, the picture is twofold: around half of the participants in the survey use push messages via the SBB or ZVV app. The other half, on the other hand, do not currently use any of these services. Two-thirds of non-users could imagine subscribing to one of the four channels offered in the future. The majority prefer the SBB or ZVV app. Almost 17% of respondents say they use our VBZ-Alerto service via Telegram or WhatsApp.

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topic: Information on digital displays and ticket machines

At many stops, VBZ will provide information about the next departures or current disruptions on the digital displays and ticket machines. In our survey, we wanted to know how important certain information is on these devices:

Our passengers attach particular importance to fault reports for the lines of the respective stop, real-time information until the next departure and clear information about the respective line. When asked "Which departure time information do you prefer on the digital displays?", almost 90% answered "minutes to departure" (e.g. "in 5 minutes").

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topic: QR code on the timetable at the stop

Since the timetable change in December 2021, QR codes have been printed on all stop timetables in the ZVV network. By scanning this code with their smartphone, passengers can call up the next departures at the respective stop in real time. As part of our survey, we determined the awareness of this service.

A good 60% of the participants knew the QR code, while just under 40% did not. Most of those who know the QR code do not use it (35%) or have only tried it once (also 35%). Only around 7% use it regularly, and about 20% rarely use it.

Passengers prefer other sources of information to the QR code. For example, the majority use the digital displays at the stops or check the next departures directly in the online timetable of the SBB or ZVV app. Around a third also use the "Next departures" function in the ZVV app.

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topic: Filter options for fault reports in the apps

Participants appreciate fault reports for their individual travel choices: 80% would like to receive reports on specific tram or bus lines, 69% on a fixed route and 61% on specific stops. The desire to filter disruption information by stop was often expressed and gives the passenger information team an important hint for the further development of new filter functions.