Fare zones of Zurich

The public transportation network of the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund is divided into 45 fare zones covering Zurich, Switzerland, and nearby regions, mostly in the canton of Zurich. The fare zones are numbered 110 to 184, with zones 180 to 184 designating those outside of the canton of Zurich, while zone 114 includes the southern part of the canton of Schaffhausen and zone 162 part of the canton of Thurgau. The city of Zurich corresponds to fare zone 110. The network covers a major portion of the Zurich metropolitan area.
Trips by tram/light rail, bus, fast and regional trains, such as InterCity, InterRegio, RegioExpress, S-Bahn, even international trains, by any operator, are part of the fare network as long as the start and end of the journey both lie within the fare network's boundaries. Passengers can use all modes of public transport within the fare zones covered by their ticket.
The zone system approach has been adopted by many other fare networks in Switzerland, such as libero in the cantons of Bern and Solothurn, and in the cantons of Thurgau, St. Gallen, Glarus, both Appenzells, Schaffhausen, some municipalities in southern Germany, and Liechtenstein.

Tickets

The fares for zones 110 and 120 are priced double that of the other zones. The six zones bordering central Zurich are covered by ZVV's Zurich Card, which permits the holder unlimited second-class travel on all forms of public transportation in downtown Zurich for 24 hours or 72 hours. It also allows transfer between Zurich Airport and downtown Zurich, as well as travel on the Uetliberg railway line, the boats of Lake Zurich Navigation Company, the Polybahn, the Funicular Rigiblick and the Dolderbahn rack railway.
Passengers purchase a base ticket for particular zones, either one-way or return. Upgrades and extension tickets are available as supplements, with the price of the ticket being dependent upon the number of zones entered. When combined with a zone upgrade for four zones, a Zurich Card is valid for all zones on the ZVV network. The 9 O'Clock Pass, valid Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m. the next day, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays, comes with a nearly 50% discount. If a journey covers eight fare zones or more, including a zone upgrade, the ticket holder is entitled to unlimited travel across the entire ZVV network for the ticket's validity period.
Tickets can be purchased through vending machines located at the railway stations, tram stops and most bus stops, or online via the websites of ZVV or Swiss Federal Railways.

Fare zones

There are 45 fare zones. The City of Zurich is zone 110. It includes downtown, the main station and urban neighbourhoods. The zones are listed below, sorted by their approximate travel time from zone 110 by S-Bahn or tram.
Core zone:

110 – City of Zurich

15 to 30 minutes travel:

111 – Regensdorf, Buchs and Dällikon
117 – Niederweningen, Schöfflisdorf and Otelfingen
121 – Zurich Airport, Kloten, Rümlang, Dübendorf and Wallisellen
122 – Illnau-Effretikon, Brütten and Lindau
130 – Forch, Greifensee, Maur and Volketswil
131 – Uster
140 – Zollikon, Zumikon, Küsnacht, Erlenbach and Winkel
150 – Langnau am Albis, Adliswil, Thalwil and Oberrieden
154 – Urdorf, Birmensdorf, Dietikon and Uitikon
155 – Hedingen, Bonstetten and Uetliberg mountain

30 to 40 minutes travel:

112 – Bülach, Niederglatt, Niederhasli, Dielsdorf and Steinmaur
113 – Hüntwangen, Wil, Eglisau and Glattfelden
120 – City of Winterthur, including Wülflingen, Töss and Oberwinterthur
123 – Pfungen and Embrach-Rorbas
132 – Wetzikon, Gossau and Aathal
135 – Fehraltorf and Pfäffikon
141 – Herrliberg and Meilen
142 – Uetikon am See and Esslingen
151 – Horgen and Sihlwald
152 – Au and Wädenswil
156 – Affoltern am Albis, Mettmenstetten and Knonau
184 – Bergdietkon, canton of Aargau

40 to 60+ minutes travel:

114 – Rafz and the southern part of the canton of Schaffhausen, also included in the network
115 – Marthalen, Benken and Rheinau
116 – Laufen-Uhwiesen, Dachsen and Flurlingen, also included in the OSTWIND networks
118 – Bachs and Weiach
124 – Flaach, Volken and Dorf
133 – Bubikon, Hombrechtikon and Hinwil
134 – Wald, Tann and Ruti
143 – Stäfa and Uerikon
153 – Richterswil and Samstagern
160 – Dinhard, Hettlingen and Thalhem
161 – Ossingen and Andelfingen
162 – Stammheim and part of the canton of Thurgau
163 – Wiesendangen and Rickenbach
164 – Elsau and Elgg
170 – Kolbrunn, Rikon and Weisslingen
171 – Wila and Turbenthal
172 – Bauma and Bäretswil
173 – Gibswil, Fischenthal and Steg
180 – Rapperswil-Jona and Hurden
181 – Freienbach, Wollerau, Pfäffikon, Ufenau island and Schindellegi, located in the canton of Schwyz but included in the ZVV and partly also in the networks
182 – boat landing stages in Altendorf and Lachen, canton of Schwyz
183 – boat landing stage in Schmerikon, canton of St. Gallen

Corridors

For journeys just beyond ZVV's borders, some zones of the neighbouring cantons' fare networks are combined within the extended fare network Z-Pass:

Aargau: Corridor A-Welle–ZVV
Schaffhausen/Thurgau/St. Gallen/Glarus: Corridor OSTWIND–ZVV
Schwyz/Zug: Corridor Schwyz-Zug–ZVV