Geneva Public Transport Guide — Trams, Buses & Mouettes (2026)

Here is the part most visitors miss: in Geneva, public transport is free for the whole stay if you sleep in a hotel. The TPG network (trams, buses, trolleybuses), the SBB suburban trains, and the bright yellow “Mouettes” water taxis that cross the harbour all run on one ticket and one fare zone (Zone 10 covers almost everything you will do). Stay in a hotel, youth hostel or campsite registered with Geneva Tourism and you get a free Geneva Transport Card for the length of the stay: a digital, personal card whose link your accommodation emails you before you arrive.

This is our full 2026 guide to Geneva public transport: every tram line (12, 14, 15, 17 and 18, including the cross-border line to Annemasse), the bus network, the four Mouettes routes, how Unireso ticketing actually works, the app to install, and a set of “I am staying at X, how do I reach Y” routes for the trips visitors make most. Pair it with the Geneva Transport Card guide and, if you are arriving by air, the airport to city center guide.

01 — Geneva Public Transport at a Glance.

One agency, TPG (Transports Publics Genevois), runs the trams, buses, and trolleybuses. The same Unireso ticket is also good on the suburban SBB trains, the local Leman Express commuter railway, and the Mouettes water taxis. The whole network is integrated under the Unireso fare community, so a single CHF 3 ticket lets you switch between modes for 60 minutes.

The headline numbers visitors care about:

• Single ticket (Zone 10): CHF 3, valid 60 minutes, all modes.
• Day pass (Zone 10): CHF 10, all modes, all day.
• Geneva Transport Card: free for guests of accommodation registered with Geneva Tourism (hotel, youth hostel, campsite), valid for the whole stay and covering the airport train and all later transport.
• Operating hours: from early morning until after 00:30 on almost every line, and through the night on Fridays and Saturdays, with the last city-centre departures around 03:30.
• Frequency: varies by line, stop and time of day; the TPG app shows live departures.

02 — Zones & Tickets Explained.

Unireso’s Zone 10, Tout Geneve covers the whole canton of Geneva except Céligny, including the city, Carouge, the surrounding municipalities and the airport, so as a visitor you will almost certainly stay inside it. Everything here assumes Zone 10 unless noted. Other zones only matter once you leave the canton: the cross-border Léman Pass zones for French-side destinations (Annemasse, Saint-Julien), or Vaud canton (Nyon).

Ticket types (2026 prices)

Ticket	Price	Valid for
Single ride (60 min)	CHF 3.00	One trip + connections within 60 min
Short trip (3 stops max, 10 min)	CHF 2.00	Up to 3 TPG stops or one Mouette crossing, no transfers or return
Day pass (Tout Geneve)	CHF 10.00	Unlimited rides in Zone 10
Day pass 9am+ (Tout Geneve)	CHF 8.00	Off-peak, after 09:00
Day pass reduced (ages 6-15)	CHF 7.30	Children; CHF 5.60 from 09:00
Weekly subscription	CHF 38.00	Seven days, transferable; monthly and annual also sold
Geneva Transport Card	Free	Hotel guests, full stay

Where to buy

Vending machines sit at every tram, bus, and train stop and take cash (coins only) and credit or debit cards. The TPG mobile app (iOS and Android) sells the same tickets, validates them digitally, and shows live arrivals. SBB Mobile sells the same Unireso ticket and is the better app if you plan to combine Geneva public transport with onward rail.

You must buy before boarding. There are no ticket sellers on board. An adult caught without a valid ticket for the first time pays CHF 100 on the spot, or CHF 125 if paying later, with the journey charge and processing fee included. Inspectors do not accept “I did not know” as a defence, and every stop has a machine.

03 — The Tram Network.

Geneva has five tram lines: 12, 14, 15, 18 and the cross-border line 17, which has run to Annemasse in France since December 2019.

Line 12, Bachet to Moillesulaz (via centre)

Tram 12 links Lancy-Bachet with Moillesulaz on the French border, via Carouge and the centre (Bel-Air, Rive, Eaux-Vives, Augustins). Key visitor stops: Bel-Air, Molard, Rive, Carouge-Marche. The Carouge service alone earns the line its keep: about 14 minutes from Molard to Carouge-Marche.

Line 14, Meyrin-Graviere to Bernex-Vailly

Cross-city east-west line. Useful for Plainpalais and for crossing to the western suburbs, where some sports facilities and the convention centre sit. Stops at Plainpalais, Cornavin, Lyon.

Line 15, Nations to Plan-les-Ouates (via Cornavin and Plainpalais)

The UN-and-Botanical-Gardens line. It connects Cornavin to the Place des Nations and the diplomatic quarter, and it is the one for the Palais des Nations, the Red Cross Museum, and the Botanical Gardens.

Line 17, Lancy-Pont-Rouge to Annemasse (France)

Line 17 runs from the Lancy-Pont-Rouge SBB station, through central Geneva, to Annemasse in France. Its cross-border service opened on 15 December 2019, bringing trams back to Annemasse after 61 years. Worth riding once just for the cross-border novelty.

Line 18, CERN to Palettes (via centre)

Connects CERN, the particle-physics laboratory in Meyrin, to central Geneva via Cornavin and Plainpalais. If you are heading to CERN Science Gateway or the Globe of Science, take this tram from Cornavin to the Meyrin, CERN terminus, about 25 minutes.

04 — Buses & Trolleybuses.

The TPG bus network covers everywhere the trams do not. There are over 60 day lines plus the night services. The most useful for visitors:

• Bus 1: Petit-Bel-Air (Hopital Trois-Chene) to Jardin Botanique via Hopital, Plainpalais, Stand, Cornavin and Monthoux. Good for linking Plainpalais, the station and the Paquis.
• Bus 5: Airport to Hopital via Cornavin and the centre. The airport bus alternative to the train.
• Bus 6: Vernier to Geneve-Plage (cross-city). Useful for the lake baths at Geneve-Plage.
• Bus 8: Palexpo to Veyrier-Douane via OMS, Cornavin and the centre. Stops near Place du Bourg-de-Four, handy for Old Town hotels.
• Bus 10: Aeroport to Rive.
• Bus E: Bachet to Veigy-Douane (express to the French border).

Bus stops show a flag-style sign with the route numbers and a live-arrival display. Most stops have shelters, and all have ticket machines.

05 — Mouettes, Geneva’s Yellow Water Taxis.

The most charming way to get around Geneva is by Mouette (literally “seagull”), the bright yellow water taxis that cross the harbour between the right and left banks on four routes. The same CHF 3 Unireso ticket, or your Geneva Transport Card, covers them, and a single crossing also works on the CHF 2 short-trip ticket. The crossings are short, and the Jet d’Eau is right there on the water beside you.

The four Mouette lines (M1, M2, M3, M4)

• M1, Paquis to Molard. The signature crossing, right-bank lakefront to Place du Molard.
• M2, Paquis to Eaux-Vives. Right bank to the Eaux-Vives marina.
• M3, Paquis to Geneve-Plage. Right bank to the public bath complex on the left bank.
• M4, De-Chateaubriand to Geneve-Plage. Right-bank quai north of Paquis to Geneve-Plage.

Operating hours: they differ by route and date, so look up your crossing on the Mouettes Genevoises timetable before you count on a late boat. The M3 to Geneve-Plage runs every 30 minutes.

My tip: even with no reason to cross the harbour, take a Mouette once on a sunny morning. It costs CHF 3, or nothing with the Transport Card, and you get the Jet d’Eau, Mont-Blanc on a clear day, and the Old Town skyline from the water.

06 — SBB Suburban Trains (Leman Express).

Geneva’s suburban rail network, the Leman Express, launched in 2019, is the often-overlooked tool for visitors heading to lakeside towns or French-side day trips. Six lines (L1 to L6) radiate from Cornavin and the underground Geneve-Eaux-Vives station, linking Geneva to:

• Coppet, Nyon, Versoix (Vaud, the lake’s right bank toward Lausanne)
• Annemasse, Saint-Gervais, Evian, Annecy (France)
• Bellegarde (France, the high-speed rail entry point)

Within Zone 10 the same Unireso ticket applies; for cross-zone travel an upgrade fare kicks in. For a French-side day trip, direct trains connect Geneva and Annecy; check SNCF Connect for the current journey time. For the lakeside towns, the day trips from Geneva guide maps out the options.

07 — Night Service & Frequency.

Since December 2025, almost every line has its last departure after 00:30. On Friday and Saturday nights the night network takes over: many urban and regional lines keep running through the night on the same CHF 3 fare, with the last city-centre departures around 03:30. Night timetables vary by route, so check yours in the TPG app before you head out; taxis are the other option.

Frequency rules of thumb:

• Trams in the centre: frequent through the day, with live departures for every stop in the TPG app.
• Main bus lines: intervals differ by line, stop and time of day.
• Mouettes: every 10 minutes on M1, every 30 on M3.
• SBB Leman Express: frequency depends on the line, so check the Leman Express timetable before you go.

08 — TPG App & SBB Mobile.

TPG Preferences app (iOS, Android, free): real-time arrivals for every TPG stop, ticket purchase, a journey planner, and line maps. The single most useful app for any Geneva visitor, so install it before you arrive.

SBB Mobile (iOS, Android, free): the Swiss Federal Railways app. It sells Unireso tickets, all SBB tickets, and regional and international rail, with the same TPG live data plus the full Swiss network. The pick if you will combine Geneva public transport with onward Swiss travel.

Google Maps and Apple Maps both pull TPG real-time data and are reliable for visitor journey planning.

09 — Common Visitor Routes.

Cornavin to Old Town (Place du Bourg-de-Four)

Walking: down Rue du Mont-Blanc and over the Pont du Mont-Blanc, then uphill into the Old Town. Tram 12 does not run to Cornavin, so if you would rather ride, let the TPG app plan the connection to Bel-Air and walk up from there.

Cornavin to Carouge (Place du Marche)

Tram 12 does not stop at Cornavin. Board it at Bel-Air, Molard or Rive for Carouge-Marche, and use the TPG planner for the connection from the station.

Cornavin to Plainpalais Market

Tram 15 from Cornavin to Plainpalais, about 9 minutes.

Cornavin to UN / Palais des Nations

Tram 15 north from Cornavin to “Nations”, about 6 minutes. For hotels in Paquis, start from the stop nearest your hotel: buses 1 and 25 serve Monthoux and Navigation.

Cornavin to Eaux-Vives

Bus 9 runs from Cornavin via Mont-Blanc to Rive, and tram 12 picks up at Rive for the Eaux-Vives stops.

Cornavin to CERN (Meyrin)

Tram 18 direct to the Meyrin, CERN terminus, about 25 minutes.

Cornavin to the Airport

Train from Cornavin, 7 minutes direct to the airport station beneath the terminal; check the departure board for the platform. See our airport transfer guide.

Right bank to Old Town (via Mouette)

Mouette M1 from the Paquis quay to Molard, every 10 minutes. Then an uphill walk to the Bourg-de-Four.

Old Town to Geneve-Plage (the public lake baths)

Buses 2, 6, E and G stop at Geneve-Plage. In summer you can make it scenic instead, crossing to the Paquis quay for Mouette M3, which runs to Geneve-Plage. The baths are an outdoor complex that opens for the season and closes in winter.

10 — Practical Tips & Etiquette.

Validate your ticket or save it on the app. Paper tickets from the machine come pre-validated; mobile tickets activate at purchase. Keep them handy, because inspectors run random checks.

Boarding: doors open with a press button, not automatically. Inside, hold the rail, because Geneva drivers brake decisively.

Priority seating: the blue-marked seats are for the elderly, pregnant passengers, those with reduced mobility, and parents with infants. Give up your seat if asked.

Quiet by default. Swiss transport is quieter than London or Paris, and speaker-phone calls are unwelcome. Conversation at normal volume is fine.

Bikes: most trams take folding bikes for free at all times and full-size bikes outside peak hours. Buses: folding only. Mouettes: as on the rest of the network, a bike needs its own reduced-fare ticket, and boarding depends on space and the Mouettes’ own rules. For two wheels of your own, see biking in Geneva.

Luggage: allowed on all services; large bags go in the racks at the ends of trams and buses.

Pets: small pets in carriers travel free; larger dogs need a half-fare ticket.

Strollers: all low-floor trams and buses take them, with dedicated wheelchair and stroller spaces in the middle of the vehicle.

11 — Money-Saving Tips for Geneva Transport.

If you are not staying at a Geneva hotel and do not have the free Transport Card, a few small habits cut the bill noticeably:

• Use the CHF 2 short-trip ticket for hops of three stops or less, or a single Mouette crossing: no transfers or return, and the ride must be done within 10 minutes. A CHF 1 saving per trip adds up across a day, and it is on every vending machine.
• The 9am day pass (CHF 8) is CHF 2 cheaper than the standard day pass and valid all day after 09:00. If your day starts late, take this one.
• Buy a weekly pass rather than daily tickets for a full week: the transferable zone 10 weekly subscription costs CHF 38 in second class, about CHF 5.43 a day versus CHF 10 for dailies.
• SBB Saver Day Pass: an SBB-issued day pass valid wherever the GA Travelcard is valid, sold online and in SBB Mobile, for travel beyond Geneva. Prices depend on availability and on whether you hold a Half Fare card.
• Children under 6 travel free with an adult; 6 to 15-year-olds pay reduced fares, and the 6-24 youth rate applies only to subscriptions. Parents who buy the visitor Swiss Half Fare Card can add children aged 6-15 to a free Swiss Family Card, valid when the child travels with a parent holding an eligible Swiss Travel System ticket.
• Combine modes: use the Mouettes (free with the Transport Card) for harbour crossings instead of walking the long way round. Free, and the city’s best photo stop.

If you are weighing a national pass instead, the Swiss Travel Pass for Geneva and the Geneva Pass vs Swiss Travel Pass comparison both lay out the math.

12 — Accessibility & Mobility.

Geneva’s transport is among the most accessible in Europe. All trams are low-floor with wheelchair ramps; most bus routes use low-floor vehicles; Cornavin station and the airport platform are fully step-free; and the major Mouettes piers have ramps. For travellers with reduced mobility, Mobilité pour tous offers free accompaniment on weekdays (except public holidays) from 07:00 to 19:00; the transport ticket is not included, and you book 48 hours ahead on 022 328 11 11. Wheelchair-accessible taxis are bookable through Centrale Taxi Phone (022 331 41 33), usually a 5-10 franc supplement. The Geneva accessibility guide maps step-free routes across the city, adapted toilets and which attractions actually deliver on the promise.

Audio announcements at every stop and visual displays at most are bilingual French and English on tourist routes, and the TPG app offers full screen-reader support.

13 — FAQ: Geneva Public Transport.

Is public transport free in Geneva?

For overnight guests of accommodation registered with Geneva Tourism, yes. The Geneva Transport Card, a digital card your hotel, hostel or campsite emails you before arrival, covers all TPG trams, buses, trolleybuses, Mouettes water taxis, and SBB suburban trains in Zone 10 for the whole stay. For non-overnight visitors, a single ticket is CHF 3 and a day pass is CHF 10.

How do I pay for Geneva public transport?

Buy from a vending machine at any stop (cash or card), or use the TPG Preferences app or SBB Mobile. You must buy before boarding, as there are no on-board sales.

How many tram lines does Geneva have?

Five: lines 12, 14, 15, 17 (the cross-border line to Annemasse, running since 2019), and 18.

What are the yellow boats in Geneva?

The Mouettes, Geneva’s water taxis. Four lines cross the harbour on the same CHF 3 ticket as the trams and buses.

How late does Geneva public transport run?

Almost every line now has its last departure after 00:30, and first departures vary by line. On Friday and Saturday nights the night network keeps running, with the last city-centre departures around 03:30.

Is the Geneva Transport Card the same as the Swiss Travel Pass?

No. The Geneva Transport Card is free for hotel guests and covers Zone 10 only. The Swiss Travel Pass is a paid national pass covering most of Switzerland. See our Swiss Travel Pass guide for whether it pays off on a Geneva trip.

14 — Official Sources & Further Reading.

• TPG, Geneva Public Transport (official site)
• Unireso, Tickets & Zone Map
• Mouettes Genevoises (official site)
• Leman Express, Suburban Rail
• Geneva Tourism, Getting Around

Arriving by air? The free ticket that once came out of a machine in Geneva Airport’s baggage hall is gone. See what happened to the airport’s free transport ticket for what’s free now and what to buy instead.

15 — Related Geneva Guides.

Keep planning with the getting to and around Geneva pillar, the Geneva airport to city center guide, the Geneva Transport Card explained, biking in Geneva, and the one day in Geneva itinerary. If you would rather drive, compare it with renting a car in Geneva.

Geneva’s public transport is simple to use: one ticket, one zone, and free for guests of registered accommodation. Open the Transport Card link your hotel emails you before you arrive, install the TPG app, and you will move from the Old Town to Carouge, the UN to the lake baths, the airport to the centre, without paying a franc more than your hotel bill. The Mouettes alone are worth the trip.