Fines issued as a result of drivers caught speeding on camera are big business in Switzerland, generating millions of francs in revenue for some cantons. But which cantons are making the most money from them?
Speed cameras are the subject of great controversy in Switzerland: critics say they’re essential for safety while critics think they’re a rip-off. Either way, they’re bringing in a lot of money for the public purse.
In 2023, the city of Zurich collected around 39.5 million Swiss francs thanks to speeding drivers caught in checks, Swiss news site Blick reported.
And in 2024, driving offences as a whole brought the city revenue of some 61 million francs, but this figure includes parking tickets and tickets for running red lights, as well as speeding fines.
Zurich City Police issued 338,100 speeding tickets last year.
Driving too fast in Switzerland can hit you hard in the pocket, costing you several thousand Swiss francs if you significantly exceed the speed limit. (That’s before you factor in losing your licence and, worst case scenario, landing in jail.)
Earlier in 2025, one St Gallen driver had to fork out over 20,000 francs in fines.
No wonder that some drivers see the speed checkpoints as a way of cantons, cities and municipalities boosting their revenue.
But police say it’s all about road safety, not income generation.
“The locations of checkpoints are selected with road safety as the primary consideration,” the Graubünden police wrote in response to an inquiry by Swiss news platform Blick, explaining that the idea was that road users would be more likely to adhere to rules – including speed limits – because they knew they could expect a check at any time.
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In Thurgau, police said that the low rate of speeding tickets issued showed that the cameras were doing their job.
Only about one in 300 vehicles are found to be speeding in the eastern canton, the cantonal police told Blick.
“The constant monitoring and visible presence are proving effective,” a police spokesperson said.
Cantons elsewhere in Switzerland are also earning healthy sums off speeding drivers.
Lucerne collected the most in central Switzerland, bringing in at least 20 million francs in traffic fines last year, with most of this from speeding fines, Blick noted.
The canton has 36 stationary and semi-stationary speed camera systems listed online.
Schaffhausen, a small town near the German border, also brought in quite a lot from speed cameras in 2024 – at least relative to its small size. It collected over 7 million francs, the paper said.
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And while revenue from speed cameras in the canton of Aargau is comparatively low at five millions francs, according to Blick, that hasn’t stopped accusations that the canton is using the cameras first and foremost to generate revenue.
In 2026, people there will have to vote on a ‘Stop Speed Camera Rip-offs’ campaign initiated by the Young Liberals and the Liberals in Aargau.
They are calling for transparent rules, fewer hidden speed cameras and a focus on “real road safety”.
Others believe that having more speed cameras would improve road safety.
One Aargau resident has repeatedly called for a new speed camera in Hunzenschwil to protect children in the area around the school there.
Calls for improved safety measures increased after a 10-year-old girl died from her injuries after being struck by a car when trying to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing two years ago.
“A speed camera… could make a big difference. Drivers would pay more attention because they certainly don’t want to always pay,” Sara Pidro told Blick.
And “given how often people speed here, it would certainly add up to a lot of money,” she added.
