Touring Club Suisse

Touring Club Suisse
Fate	Representing the interests and providing services in the area of mobility
Founded	1 September 1896
Headquarters	Vernier, Switzerland
Key people	Peter Goetschi (President) ; Jürg Wittwer (General Director)
Members	1.5 million (2015)

The Touring Club Suisse (TCS) is a non-profit association with approximately 1.5 million members in Switzerland. As the largest mobility club in Switzerland, the TCS offers services to its members in the following areas: assistance to persons, assistance to vehicles, tourism and leisure. In addition, the TCS is committed to the benefit of the community by carrying out tests on all objects related to mobility and by working towards road safety and electric mobility.

A TCS patrol vehicle at a roadside assistance call

Its flagship products are membership, overseas assistance, legal protection, vehicle insurance, credit cards, driving courses and leisure (camping and travel). In addition, its members enjoy benefits from other service providers in Switzerland.

Origin and structure

The TCS was founded in Geneva on September 1, 1896 by 205 cyclists with the aim of developing bicycle tourism. It is an association, headquartered in Vernier in the canton of Geneva.

Structurally, the TCS consists of 24 sections and a central Club. Each section delegates a representative who sits on the Board of Directors. It appoints a director who manages the Central Club’s business. The highest body is the Delegate Assembly, which represents all TCS members.

Mobility Academy

The Mobility Academy was founded in 2008 by the TCS. It offers an interdisciplinary exchange platform on the mobility of the future. It studies all forms of mobility that are promising and sustainable. As a unit for reflection and action, the Academy of Mobility organizes, with the support of national and international organizations, several conferences in Switzerland around topics such as electric mobility, shared mobility, collaborative mobility, etc. . As a leading Swiss actor, the Mobility Academy also develops innovative concepts such as "Carvelo", "Carvelo2go" or "Let's move!” and manages the association "Swiss eMobility".

Activities

The TCS is known throughout Switzerland by its helpdesk service, reachable in Switzerland on 0800 140 140 and its 220 yellow patrol vehicles.

The ETI Booklet (Entraide Touristique Internationale, or International Tourist Assistance) is a travel insurance that covers the events that can take place before and during a travel abroad: breakdown service, legal protection, baggage insurance, cancellation insurance, remote medical advice, repatriation and medical expenses.

The legal protection service of the TCS was founded in 1958. It defends its members on the following topics: private legal protection, motorist's legal protection, real estate and internet.

The TCS also carries out product tests every year - child seats, tires, helmets, driving systems, etc. - as well as vehicles tests - cars, motorcycles, ebikes, scooters etc. - and publishes these tests for free to benefit the whole community. Since its creation, the TCS has been committed to road safety. It publishes brochures and leaflets for the use of its members and schools. It participates in national prevention campaigns funded by the Road Safety Fund. The TCS also conducts studies on the safety of the road infrastructure.

A privileged partner of the authorities, the TCS’ expertise is recognized at the Swiss level and it participates in all public consultations on the topic of road safety and mobility in general.

Once a month, TCS members receive the Touring magazine for free, published in French, German and Italian. The magazine’s editorial offices are centralized in Bern.

The TCS has 21 technical centers, 29 campsites and 15 driving training tracks.

The TCS has been a member of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) since 1998.

Services delivery

Automobile and legal insurance
Assistance to people and vehicles in Switzerland and abroad
Traffic information
Tourism, leisure and camping
Organization of driving courses and two-phase driving license
Road prevention and education
Tests and tips

References

François Antoniazzi, Der Touring Club Schweiz im Spiegel von 100 Ereignissen 1896–1996, TCS Publishing, Geneva, 1996.
Joseph Britschgi, Manuel d'enseignement de la circulation, TCS Publishing, Geneva, 1946.

External links

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