Red Cross driver service

What is the Red Cross driver service?

The Red Cross driver service is a service of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) for people with reduced mobility. A volunteer driver picks you up at home, takes you to a medical appointment, for example at the doctor’s, in hospital or for therapy, and drives you back again. The service is not organised centrally but by the Red Cross cantonal associations. Registration, tariffs and catchment area therefore differ from canton to canton.

The driver service is charged. It is not patient transport within the meaning of basic health insurance: the drivers are volunteers, not paramedics, and there is no medical care during the journey. If you need to be transported lying down or need medical care on the way, you depend on patient transport; you can find out more under rescue and transport costs.

Typical users are older people without a car, people after an operation, people with a walking disability or patients who regularly need treatment and cannot drive themselves after the appointment. The driver service complements other services for everyday life at home, such as Spitex, nursing care at home.

How it works

1. Register. You register with the Red Cross cantonal association in your canton of residence. You can find the links to all cantonal associations on the SRC website (see sources).
2. Book a trip. You report the appointment in good time, with the address, time and expected duration. The association looks for a volunteer.
3. The trip. The driver picks you up, waits during the appointment or picks you up again, and takes you home.
4. Bill. You receive a bill; in the canton of Zurich, it comes monthly with all trips listed in detail. Cash payment is not possible there.

Each cantonal association sets its own tariffs. In the canton of Zurich, there is an annual administration fee of CHF 30, a basic fee of CHF 8 per trip and a price of CHF 0.95 per kilometre up to and including 90 km, and CHF 0.75 thereafter. The kilometres are counted from and back to your place of residence or pick-up point, even for a one-way trip. For short trips, there is a minimum price of CHF 18 in Zurich and Winterthur and CHF 15 in other municipalities. 90 minutes of waiting time are included; each additional half hour costs CHF 5 for the driver’s meals. Cancellations less than 24 hours before the trip are charged at the minimum price.

Legal basis

There is no specific law for the Red Cross driver service itself. It is a private service of the Red Cross cantonal associations; they set the services, tariffs and conditions themselves.

Three rules are important for the coverage of costs. Under Art. 26 para. 1 of the Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV), basic health insurance covers 50% of the costs of medically indicated patient transport to an approved service provider if your state of health does not allow transport by any other public or private means of transport, up to CHF 500 per calendar year. Under Art. 26 para. 2 KLV, the transport must take place in a means of transport that meets the medical requirements. Under Art. 56 of the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV), transport and rescue companies that bill basic health insurance must be approved by the canton, have a contract with the insurers and meet quality requirements. The insurer decides whether a trip with the Red Cross driver service meets these conditions.

If you receive supplementary benefits, the canton reimburses the documented costs of transport to the nearest place of treatment under Art. 14 para. 1 let. e of the Federal Act on Supplementary Benefits (ELG). The canton determines exactly which costs (Art. 14 para. 2 ELG).

Example: ten therapy appointments in Zurich

Hans, 78, lives in Zurich and has ten appointments at a physiotherapy practice 10 km from his home after an operation. He is not yet allowed to drive and cannot manage the bus and tram. He uses the Red Cross driver service, and the driver waits during each therapy session. The basis is the tariffs of the Swiss Red Cross, canton of Zurich, retrieved on 25.09.2026.

What this means for you

• Register early. The trips depend on volunteer drivers. Book regular appointments as early as possible.
• Check your own canton’s tariff. Prices differ from canton to canton. When you register, ask about the basic fee, the price per kilometre and the waiting time.
• Submit your bills. Send the bills to your health insurer, even if it is unclear whether it will pay. That is the only way it can decide.
• Check your supplementary insurance. Some supplementary insurance policies pay contributions towards transport. You can find out which insurers have which supplementary products under Health insurers and in the supplementary insurance comparison.
• Use supplementary benefits. If you receive supplementary benefits, report the transport costs to the supplementary benefits office in your canton.

You compare the costs of basic health insurance itself in the premium calculator. Other help in everyday life, such as aids and appliances like rollators, is governed separately in basic health insurance.

Common mistakes

• Confusing the driver service with patient transport. If you need to be transported lying down or with medical care, you need patient transport.
• Counting on full coverage of the costs. Basic health insurance pays at most part of the costs, and only under strict conditions.
• Cancelling at short notice. In Zurich, cancellations less than 24 hours beforehand cost the minimum price.
• Underestimating the waiting time. If an appointment lasts longer than 90 minutes, supplements are added in Zurich.

We explain how we work with figures and sources under How we calculate.