a tram in basel

As for a tram, especially a city tram, whenever I see it in a new city or town, I just want to get on at least one time, though I always prefer to walk. The problem is a hesitation related to a luck of knowledge, say, how to pay, or how to get off at a stop.
When I checked in a hotel in Basel, which was located near Basel SBB, the front desk clerk gave me a free pass of the city tram for my entire stay. Writing this sentence, I just remember that considering its reasonable price, this hotel was so good. The clerks (not only one) were so efficient that she/he seemed to be able to remember every single customer's family name. Whenever I came to the hotel after walking around the city, they smiled, greeting with saying "hello" and my name. I didn't know this hotel was so special or not in Basel or in Swiss. But, considering with my staying at a hotel in Geneva (this was also good hotel for me), the hotel in Basel was certainly special at least for me. Muuuu, I still can't remember the name of this hotel, so, can't find its URL with Google. Sorry.
O.K. a tram.
I eventually took the tram you can see in the pic, and went to somewhere near the Rhine, or better say, Rhein, 'cause I had no particular destination. Surprisingly, I remember that there seemed to be no place or staff who could check a passenger's pass or ticket. I certainly had a free pass and prepared to show it, but no one asked me to do it. My colleague just told that it was O.K. but sometimes, staffs of a tram randomly checked passengers' tickets without any notices. At that time, what if they could find a passenger who didn't have a ticket, the fine was so heavy.
I'm not so sure that this was collect or not, but surely remember that I just grasped my free pass until it was damp by my sweat.
Here was Basel, Swiss