Federal Council proposes Tasers and bodycams on public transport

Switzerland’s Federal Council wants transport police to be allowed to use Tasers on buses, trams and trains, SRF reported on Wednesday. The proposal also covers bodycams and real time video surveillance on public transport.

A consultation on changes to the relevant regulations will run until November 16, 2026.

The legal basis for using Tasers follows a motion by National Council member Michaël Buffat of the Swiss People’s Party. Parliament approved the motion, allowing transport police to use so called destabilisation devices. The regulation governing security bodies on public transport must now be amended.

Transport police officers could be permitted to wear bodycams to document whether Tasers were used lawfully. The Federal Council also wants to create a legal basis for equipping drivers, inspectors and accompanying staff of transport companies with bodycams.

The same revision would clarify rules for real time video surveillance inside vehicles. Such surveillance would be allowed if a data protection impact assessment, taking the route and time of day into account, confirms an overriding interest, or if a passenger requests help. Passengers would have to be informed that live surveillance was taking place.

The Federal Council initially wants to limit the use of bodycams, real time video surveillance and artificial intelligence to analyse recordings to five years. During that period, a legal basis would be established in a federal law.