Country Overviews

Introduction

Transport research in Switzerland is mainly carried out by the federal administration, the Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL) and regionally
by the Cantonal Universities.

The main public programmes are led by:

• The Federal Office for Spatial Development (OSD/ARE), which aims to make a substantial contribution to sustainable spatial development in Switzerland. In 2007, the total budget for research and consultancy services amounted to CHF 3.85 million (€2.4 million).The department for "Transport Coordination/Basics" conducts a number of ongoing and planned projects.
• The Strategy and Research Division of the Swiss Federal Roads Authority (FEDRO/ASTRA), which coordinates and commissions a broad range of research projects. The Roads Research Commission defines the long-term research strategy of the federal authorities. The annual research budget between 2004 and 2008 was approximately CHF 9.5-10 million (€6-6.5m).
• The Federal Office for Transport (FOT/BAV) operates in the field of strategic research and assigns research projects which provide input to the political decision making process. Examples of current projects of the BAV are the future development of railway infrastructure in Switzerland ("ZEB"), the connection of the Swiss railway network to the European high-speed network and the monitoring of the Alpine transit policy including a census of trans-Alpine passenger and freight transport.
• The "Research Council" of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) evaluates research projects and awards grants accordingly. The budget for its Transport and Environment programme NRP 41 (1995-2001) amounted to CHF 10 million (€6.67 million), with third party co-funding totalling CHF 1.7 million (Û1.13 million). A new project called "Sustainable Development of the Built Environment" with a total budget of CHF 13 million (€8.6m) also covers transport issues.

The Institute for Transport Planning and Systems (IVT) is part of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ).The institute is divided into three research groups: Transport Systems, Private Transport and Transport Planning. The Research Laboratory for Traffic Facilities (LAVOC) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) deals with questions of transport infrastructure, specifically with pavement behaviour and management of road maintenance. The Interdisciplinary Centre for General Ecology (IKAÖ) is part of the University of Berne and focuses on sustainable development at regional and communal levels. The Institute for public services and tourism (IDT) at the University of St. Gallen includes three Centres of Excellence: Tourism and Transport, Public Management and Regional Sciences

Outside of government, private research institutions such as consulting and engineering offices also conduct extensive research. Expert Research is coordinated by the Swiss Association of Road and Transportation Experts (VSS). The federal offices operate, support, coordinate, monitor and fund strategic research.

National research priorities for transport are in the fields of:

• External costs of transport;
• Sustainable transport and expert research;
• Mode transport research;
• Road infrastructure construction.
  

National Government Departments

Federal Office for Spatial Development (OSD) / Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung (ARE) / Office Fédéral du Développement Territorial

www.are.admin.ch

Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) / Bundesamt für Strassen (ASTRA) / Office Fédéral des Routes (OFROU)

www.astra.admin.ch

Federal Office of Transport (FOT) / Bundesamt für Verkehr (BAV) / Office Fédéral des Transports (OFT)

www.bav.admin.ch

Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) / Bundesamt für Energie (BFE) / Office Fédéral de l'Energie (OFEN)

www.bfe.admin.ch

Federal Statistical Office (FSO) / Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS)/ Office Fédéral de la Statistique (OFS)

www.bfs.admin.ch

State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) / Staatssekretariat für Bildung und Forschung (SBF) / Secrétariat d'Etat à l'Education et à la Recherche (SER)

www.sbf.admin.ch

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) / Schweizerischer Nationalfond (SNF) / Fonds National Suisse (FNS)

www.snf.ch

Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) / Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU) / Office Fédéral del'Environnement (OFEV)

www.bafu.admin.ch

Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) / Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt (BAZL) / Office Fédéral de l'Aviation Civile (OFAC)

www.bazl.admin.ch

In addition to the following projects, other transport-related research is commissioned by all the above bodies within the federal administration.

Fair and Efficient Prices for Transportation

Led by the Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development - ARE
www.are.admin.ch/themen/verkehr/00252/00472/index.html?lang=en

Mobility Pricing in Switzerland Programme

Led by the Federal Roads Office - FEDRO
www.astra.admin.ch/themen/00901/index.html?lang=de

Sustainable Spatial Development and Mobility / National Research Programme 54 (NRP 54)

www.nfp54.ch/e.cfm?Slanguage=e

SVI - Swiss Association of Transportation Engineers / Schweizerischer Vereinigung der Verkehrsingenieure / Research programme with a broad range of projects.

www.svi.ch

VSS - Swiss Association of Road and Transportation Experts

Various projects.
www.vss.ch

Energy Efficiency in Transport / Mobility

Led by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy - SFOE.
www.bfe.admin.ch/themen/00507/00509/index.html?lang=en

Public Research Organisations

IVT - Institute for Transport Planning and Systems, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich / Institut für Verkehrsplanung und Transportsysteme, ETH Zürich

The main transport research institute in Swiss universities is divided into three research groups: Transport Systems, Private Transport and Transport Planning.
www.ivt.ethz.ch

EPFL-LAVOC - Traffic Facilities Laboratory / Laboratoire des voies de circulation, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Research fields: transport infrastructure, specifically with pavement behaviour and management of road maintenance. LAVOC is part of TRACE ("Transportation Center @ EPFL")

http://lavoc.epfl.ch and http://transport.epfl.ch

EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research / Research covering clean engine fuels, fuel consumption and emission models.

www.empa.ch

NSL - Network City and Landscape, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich / Various projects at the interface between spatial and land use planning and mobility.

www.nsl.ethz.ch

Paul Scherrer Institute

Sustainable mobility as a sub-theme of the General Energy Research Department (ENE).
ene.web.psi.ch

Other Institutes

Swiss Centre for Technology Assessment (TA - SWISS)

Various projects.
www.ta-swiss.ch

Proper non-governmental research programmes do not exist in Switzerland. Nevertheless, networks of NGO's (VCS, Greenpeace, Alpenbüro, CIPRA, and WWF) fund, among others, transport related research.