Navigation on Lake Geneva between Switzerland’s canton of Vaud and neighbouring French communities will be sharply reduced starting next year.
Passenger transport between Switzerland and France is carried out by the Compagnie Générale de Navigation (CGN), a Swiss company that operates on Lake Geneva, connecting lakeside towns in both countries.
However, from December 14th, there will be fewer ferries circulating between the the two shores, Vaud authorities announced jointly with the neighbouring French communities of Thonon and Evian.
Why the change?
According to Vaud authorities, “this [new] agreement marks an important step following the French side’s abandonment of the existing agreement, which had led to the opening of discussions on the financing of the service.”
However, “thanks to the willingness of both sides to engage in dialogue a solution was found.”
What will happen next?
In 2026, peak-hour connections will be maintained, while the overall service will be adapted in a targeted manner.
The Swiss and French sides will respectively finance, as in recent years, half of the costs of services not covered by revenue.
Among changes to be made to the timetable will be will be reduced frequencies, particularly between Lausanne and Evian, as well as Lausanne and Thonon-les-Bains: crossings will be cut by half.
The connection with Yvoire will also be reduced.
However, rush-hour journeys will be maintained to ensure the travel of cross-border workers.
You can see the new timetable here.
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Effect on tourism
While cross-border commuters will still be able to get to their Swiss jobs on time, one impact of the fewer ferries will be that “leisure traffic is likely to be severely impacted,” Romain Pilloud, secretary general of the Vaud branch Transport and Environment Association told RTS public broadcaster.
Tourism “generates a lot of travel, so we risk seeing a significant shift from boat travel to road travel, particularly on weekends,” he said.
