Postauto, also called Poschi or Poschti in Swiss German

Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...

 dialect, is the Swiss Standard German

Swiss Standard German

Swiss Standard German, referred to by the Swiss as Schriftdeutsch, or Hochdeutsch, is one of four official languages in Switzerland, besides French, Italian and Romansh...

 term used in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 for the motorized successor to stagecoaches. This linguistic anomaly also exists in the French

Swiss French

Swiss French is the name used for the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. Swiss French is not to be confused with Franco-Provençal/Arpitan or Romansh, two other individual Romance languages spoken in areas not far from Romandy.The differences...

 and Italian-speaking parts of the country, where the terms Car postal (French) and Autopostale (Italian) are used. In other countries the term postbus

Postbus

A postbus is a public bus service that is operated as part of local mail delivery. As a means to provide public transport in rural areas with lower levels of patronage where a normal bus service is uneconomic Postbus services are run by the postal delivery company and combine the functions of...

is used.

Although the combination of mail and passenger transportation had been self-evident in the past, the needs of each diverged towards the end of the twentieth century, when the conveyance of parcels was progressively separated from public transportation. This was also so on private bus and rail lines. This division became official with the conversion of Swiss PostBus Ltd into an independent subsidiary of the Swiss Post

Swiss Post

Swiss Post is the postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer...

.

The Company

PostBus lines are operated by “PostBus,” a division of the Swiss Post

Swiss Post

Swiss Post is the postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer...

. Swiss PostBus Ltd became a separate subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

 in February 2005 with its seat in Bern. The company operates 798 bus lines with 2,103 buses in Switzerland, transporting over 120 million passengers annually on its 10,363 km long network. The lines are operated by the Swiss Post itself or by local bus companies contracted to do so.

PostBus offers extensive services in public, public-private, and private transit, including:

• PostAuto: Bus lines (municipal, regional, long-distance, and vacation transportation)
• PubliCar: Dial-a-bus service for lightly traveled routes
• ScolaCar: Small buses for student transportation
• VivaCar: Dial-a-bus service for the handicapped
• PostCar: Tourist travel (chartered)

Coaches

During most of the 20th Century, PostBus coaches were made in Switzerland by either Saurer

Saurer

Adolph Saurer AG was a Arbon, Switzerland , based manufacturer of trucks and buses, under the Saurer and Berna brand names, and active between 1903 and 1982....

, Berna or FBW

Franz Brozincevic Wetzikon

Franz Brozincevic & Cie was a Swiss maker of trucks and buses, active between 1922 and 1985 and based in Wetzikon.FBW gained an excellent reputation for the top-level engineering and the long-lasting life of its products, never producing series but instead making individually tailored vehicles...

.

Chronology

• 1849: Creation of the postal network diligence.
• 1906: First service of PostBus between Bern and Detligen.
• 1919: Inauguration of the line crossing the Simplon Pass
  Simplon Pass
  Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
  
  .
• 1921: Grimsel Pass
  Grimsel Pass
  Grimsel Pass is a Swiss high mountain pass.-Position:It connects the valley of the Rhone River in the canton of Valais and the Haslital in the canton of Bern....
  
  , Furka Pass
  Furka Pass
  Furka Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri. The Furka-Oberalp-Bahn line through the Furka Tunnel bypasses the pass...
  
  , San Bernardino Pass
  San Bernardino Pass
  San Bernardino Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the Hinterrhein and the Mesolcina valleys between Thusis and Bellinzona . Located in the far eastern side of the Western Alps it is not to be confused with the Great St. Bernard Pass and the Little St. Bernard Pass...
  
   and Oberalp Pass
  Oberalp Pass
  Oberalp Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the cantons of Graubünden and Uri between Disentis and Andermatt.-Winter closure:...
  
   are open to traffic.
• 1923: A three-tone horn is installed on the buses travelling on mountain routes.
• 1949: The bus lines of the Principality of Liechtenstein are operated by PostBus.
• 1959: All buses are of the same yellow color.
• 1961: Last service of horse diligence on the line Avers
  Avers
  Avers is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It includes Juf, the highest-altitude year-round settlement in Europe.-History:...
  
  -Juf
  Juf
  Juf is a village in the municipality of Avers in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. At above sea level, it is the highest village with permanent residents in Switzerland and in Europe. Juf has a population of about 24 inhabitants divided over 6 families in a concentrated settlement. They were...
  
  .
• 2003: For the first time, PostBus carried more than 100 million passengers.

External links

• PostBus
• Original sound of Post horn (MP3)
• Sound of Post horn (MP3)