Zürich model is a name used to refer to the approach which permitted the public transportation system of the city of Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 to achieve and maintain a high market share. Many other cities have emulated elements of it, especially when new tram systems were being introduced.

History

In the 1960s, Zürich was planning to move many of the tram lines in its central area into tunnels. This project was rejected in a referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

. In the 1970s, a project to create an underground railway was similarly rejected.

Despite the failures of these attempts to provide Zürich with a different kind of transportation system, public transportation in Zürich has maintained a high modal split, with 65% of people commuting within the city doing so by public transport and only 17% using cars.

Elements of the model

• A dense network providing many direct connections and short headways.
• High priorities at intersections.
• Low impact of road congestion on operations.