PostBus Switzerland’s bus extensions to carry more people

Swiss company intercity PostBus rolls out a bus extension, as of 12 January 2013, to accommodate additional passengers.

21 January - After a 25-year absence, PostBus in Switzerland has reintroduced passenger trailers to increase the capacity of its buses. Just last week, they began operating the new XXL vehicle, which is equipped with a trailer that can be added or removed as necessary.

The extended bus is 12 metres long with a trailer measuring 11 metres – for a total of 23 - making it longer than usual articulated vehicles. With its trailer, the bus has 63 seats and standing room for 100 people. It also offers internet access to passengers and is fully accessible to wheelchairs with its low easy access floor, making it very user-friendly.

The trailer can be added or removed "in a few minutes", says the manufacturer. The capacity of the bus can be adjusted according to the expected demand, and so not run empty in off-peak hours and consume more fuel than necessary. 

The trailer is used during peak hours in the morning, noon and late afternoon, mainly for school transport. If the experiment is successful, PostBus could extend this concept to other intercity bus lines where passenger demand fluctuates at different times of the day.

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