The European Union’s Transport Council has given Vienna the green light to rewrite its 1958 bilateral road-transport agreement with Switzerland and to introduce limited cabotage rights for regular coach and bus lines that operate in the densely integrated Alpine border region.
What has changed? Until now, passenger services that run, for example, from Sargans (CH) to Feldkirch (AT) could carry travellers across the frontier but were barred from picking up or dropping off passengers wholly within Austria. The Council’s decision of 23 February 2026 authorises Austria to lift that restriction in five Vorarlberg districts (Bludenz, Bregenz, Dornbirn, Feldkirch) and in Tyrol’s Landeck district. In practice, a Swiss coach route will be allowed to sell tickets between Bregenz and Dornbirn or between Bludenz and Feldkirch, provided the journey remains within the delimited zone.
Why now? Daily cross-border commuting between Vorarlberg and Eastern Switzerland has grown by around 20 % since 2019, driven by labour shortages on both sides of Lake Constance and the re-routing of long-distance tourist flows away from Zürich Airport through the cheaper Friedrichshafen–Bregenz corridor. Local authorities complain that duplicate parallel services—one Austrian, one Swiss—run half-empty and clog narrow alpine valleys; modest cabotage should allow operators to consolidate timetables, cut emissions and keep fares down.
![EU Council clears Austria-Switzerland cross-border bus cabotage deal]()
If your organisation is planning to move staff more frequently across the Austria–Switzerland border, remember that visa or residence-permit questions can arise alongside transport logistics. VisaHQ offers fast, expert assistance with Austrian travel documentation for business travellers and their families, helping companies stay compliant as mobility patterns evolve. Explore their services at https://www.visahq.com/austria/
Corporate mobility impact Multinationals with sites in St. Gallen, Buchs SG, Dornbirn or Rankweil expect easier employee shuttles and more reliable airport feeder services to Zürich and Altenrhein. HR departments should review travel-policy wording: tickets purchased for purely Austrian sectors of a Swiss-licensed service will now be reimbursable. Logistics managers should note that the EU authorisation is strictly passenger-only; commercial freight cabotage remains prohibited.
Next steps The European Parliament must still adopt its position, but diplomats expect a rubber-stamp vote before the Easter recess. Austrian operators have already asked the Transport Ministry to open reciprocal rights for their buses in Switzerland—a move Bern says it will consider once it has analysed first-year data from the Austrian side.
What has changed? Until now, passenger services that run, for example, from Sargans (CH) to Feldkirch (AT) could carry travellers across the frontier but were barred from picking up or dropping off passengers wholly within Austria. The Council’s decision of 23 February 2026 authorises Austria to lift that restriction in five Vorarlberg districts (Bludenz, Bregenz, Dornbirn, Feldkirch) and in Tyrol’s Landeck district. In practice, a Swiss coach route will be allowed to sell tickets between Bregenz and Dornbirn or between Bludenz and Feldkirch, provided the journey remains within the delimited zone.
Why now? Daily cross-border commuting between Vorarlberg and Eastern Switzerland has grown by around 20 % since 2019, driven by labour shortages on both sides of Lake Constance and the re-routing of long-distance tourist flows away from Zürich Airport through the cheaper Friedrichshafen–Bregenz corridor. Local authorities complain that duplicate parallel services—one Austrian, one Swiss—run half-empty and clog narrow alpine valleys; modest cabotage should allow operators to consolidate timetables, cut emissions and keep fares down.
If your organisation is planning to move staff more frequently across the Austria–Switzerland border, remember that visa or residence-permit questions can arise alongside transport logistics. VisaHQ offers fast, expert assistance with Austrian travel documentation for business travellers and their families, helping companies stay compliant as mobility patterns evolve. Explore their services at https://www.visahq.com/austria/
Corporate mobility impact Multinationals with sites in St. Gallen, Buchs SG, Dornbirn or Rankweil expect easier employee shuttles and more reliable airport feeder services to Zürich and Altenrhein. HR departments should review travel-policy wording: tickets purchased for purely Austrian sectors of a Swiss-licensed service will now be reimbursable. Logistics managers should note that the EU authorisation is strictly passenger-only; commercial freight cabotage remains prohibited.
Next steps The European Parliament must still adopt its position, but diplomats expect a rubber-stamp vote before the Easter recess. Austrian operators have already asked the Transport Ministry to open reciprocal rights for their buses in Switzerland—a move Bern says it will consider once it has analysed first-year data from the Austrian side.
