All the information you need to plan you’re an EPFL-related trip in Switzerland or abroad.
Before planning a trip, please visit our webpages describing the security risks related to business travel. These pages also contain extensive information on trip planning and our travel assistance program.
For any trips that require air travel and/or at least one night’s hotel accommodation, you must submit a travel request.
→ For information on expenses and reimbursement, visit our expense reimbursement page.
You must take a train if your destination is less than six hours away. If your destination is further away and you need to fly, you should travel in economy or economy+ class whenever possible, especially for flights of less than six hours. Flying first class is not allowed.
According to the new business and student travel policy, the train should be used for destinations that can be reached in less than 6 hours, according to the list of destinations in Annex I. Staff can obtain a 25% discount on the 2nd class GA Travelcard (and 25% for juniors). The 1st class general subscription remains subsidised at 15%.
→ Reservations must be made through our central travel agency.
As stated in our travel policy, we strongly encourage our community members to use public transport whenever possible.
If you are traveling less than 150 km and staying within Switzerland, we recommend using the Mobility car-sharing service.
- Contact CWT, our central travel agency, if you need to rent a car in Switzerland or abroad.
- We recommend using Europcar for rentals in Switzerland and Europe.
- You must take out additional insurance (liability, damage and theft) for rentals made abroad.
Europcar offers for EPFL employees for personal use
→ See related information about Europcar’s offers (PDF, 132 KB) on car rentals.
Students can acquire a Funway card to rent vehicles at a reduced price. Please visit the Funway web page for more information.
Personal vehicles (cars and two-wheel motor vehicles) may be used for EPFL trips only by people with reduced mobility who are in possession of a disability sticker or medical certificate and only for trips in Switzerland. Approval in other circumstances may be granted by the corresponding EPFL unit head on an annual or temporary basis.
Students and employees who travel with their personal vehicle will be entitled to a mileage allowance of CHF 0.60 per km, with a maximum of 150 km per return journey, regardless of the type of vehicle (e.g. gas-driven or electric). This does not apply to travel to one of our satellite campuses. This allowance includes the costs of wear-and-tear, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. Students and employees travelling with their personal vehicles are considered fully responsible for all associated risks.
Taxi services may be used if public transport is not suitable, for example if you arrive at your destination late in the evening, if you have a complicated route, or if you are carrying bulky or fragile luggage. However, the use of taxi services should be kept to a minimum.
In some cases, the fare from your home to the nearest train station or airport may be reimbursed.
Remember to ask for a receipt to justify your expense.
Expenses incurred for the use of a personal vehicle for EPFL-related travel will be reimbursed only if:
- The use of a personal vehicle will save considerable time or money
- Bulky or fragile equipment must be transported
- There is no “acceptable” alternative to public transport
- Other means of transportation, such as a car rental, are not available
Parking fees
- We recommend using the cheapest parking lots.
- We do not reimburse valet parking services.
- If you need to park your vehicle at a Swiss train station, we reimburse only “Park & Rail” fees with a discount.
Hotel reservations must be made through CWT, our central travel agency, whenever possible.
You should book your hotel through CWT (contact details below), which will provide you with the best prices available at our partner establishments or for your specific budget.
Only “medium” category hotels are allowed based on reference values per country (see Appendix 2 of our travel policy, page 13, PDF 222 KB).
We do not reimburse private telephone, minibar or film rental costs.
To make it easier for us to recover VAT paid abroad, we recommend that hotel bills be made out in the name of EPFL. Your name must also appear on the invoice.
IMPORTANT: A credit card will be required to guarantee the reservation (you may use your EPFL laboratory card). Payment is made upon your arrival at the hotel.
We will reimburse up to CHF 80 (total for the entire trip) for stays in private homes. The costs must be justified.
For some types of trips, you may rent an apartment if the costs can be justified.
The EPFL housing service can give you information about the different housing options in the Lausanne area, as well as some options for housing EPFL guests.
On-campus hotels
SwissTech Hotel
Book directly at the SwissTech Hotel and receive a special EPFL rate. To get the EPFL rate, send a reservation request by email to [email protected], using your @epfl.ch email address.
EPFL community members can book a single or double room at a reduced rate of CHF 110 or CHF 132 per night, respectively (not including breakfast and tourist tax).
These rates apply all year long. Reservations can be canceled free of charge up to 24 hours in advance.
The EPFL rate is granted for all bookings made by email to [email protected] and using an email address @epfl.ch.
Starling Hotel Lausanne
Book directly at Starling Hotel Lausanne.
EPFL community members can reserve a room by sending a request by email to [email protected], using their @epfl.ch email address.
Online bookings can be made on the hotel’s website with the following code: EPFL1025. Reservations made with this code can be canceled anytime up to 12pm on the day of arrival.
Meals paid for while traveling will be reimbursed at a flat rate per country as outlined in our guidelines on expense reimbursement.
In January 2023, EPFL adopted a new Directive concerning the reimbursement of work–related expenses (LEX 5.6.1).
Our Expense Management application should be used for the entire process of managing travel and travel expenses, from specific trip requests to expense reimbursement.
Contact
Maison de la mobilité:
BI A0 432 (Building BI)
Avenue Picard
Monday to Friday: 9am–1pm and 1:30pm–5pm