Re:The integrated timetable of Switzerland
by misja111 on Monday June 20, 2022 @10:31AM
(#31810787)
The Swiss rail company, SBB, is owned by the state. In 2021 it made a loss of 325 million CHF, which is about 3.3% of its total turnover.
So it's paid mostly through ticket fees and for a small part by the state.
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I think that's incorrect, public funding is included in revenues.
In 2021, out of ~10B revenues, 4B came from state aid. In terms of operating income, traffic revenues are roughly equal to public sector funding.
See https://reporting.sbb.ch/en/finance?highlighted=8e222679f50e...
Quoting coronavirus pandemic numbers in a country where people are ordered to stay at home is a pretty dishonest argument.
SBB made profit it 2019 for example.
Define "loss" here. As far as I can tell, the Swiss franc is a sovereign fiat currency which lost any association to a gold standard by means of public referendum. The "cost" is effectively zero as it is part of the general economy available to the nation-state of Switzerland, and fits into the larger monetary and fiscal policy of the country.
I have never considered the "cost" of a government service to be representative of anything unless an analysis of social benefits is likewise included. For instance the entire discourse around the USPS during the last US presidential election.
Clearly, the train system is net-profitable for the country or they would shut it down, so calling it a "loss" seems inaccurate.