«Nohere, it’s just Twint or cash!” This is the response currently faced by travelers who board a PostBus bus and want to buy their ticket from the driver. But it will soon be over, at least in some regions. As “Schweiz am Wochenende” has learned, PostBus plans to enable payment by credit and debit card directly from drivers from next year. Thus, the Genevan who testified in our newspaper at the beginning of the year about the misadventures of tourists on buses in Valais will soon no longer have to relive such situations.
PostBus has launched a call for tenders to acquire the card payment machines. “Tourist regions will receive a certain priority,” according to PostBus spokesperson Katharina Merkle. Because foreigners don’t have Twint, if they lack cash, it’s ruined. During 2025, around half of the 2,300 buses in the PostBus fleet should benefit from this new system.
However, concerns are being raised about the possible future disappearance of cash on buses. Two years ago, the company’s boss indicated that he wanted to eliminate cash payments by 2035. Currently, PostBus says it complies with the laws of each canton where the buses run. For example, in Graubünden, you can no longer buy tickets from drivers but machines have been installed. Wherever it is obligatory to accept cash, drivers logically still take it. “This is still the case on the vast majority of our almost 1,000 bus lines,” said the spokesperson.
Not to save money
CarPostal also says that it is not trying to save money in this way. Acquiring card payment terminals costs money. According to the company, savings are only made if cash and payments to drivers are completely eliminated. In Graubünden, ATMs cost less than payment terminals. Additionally, if drivers no longer have to sell tickets, schedules can be tightened because stops are shorter. PostBus specifies that the costs incurred by the new payment system will not lead to an increase in ticket prices.
