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 public transport and mail delivery/collection. A standard passenger fare is payable to the driver/postie.
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In Austria, the postbus system is known as Postbus.
The first post bus lines in Bohemia started in the days of Austria-Hungary, in 1908. The first lines were Pardubice – Bohdaneč (11 km, 64 minuts) and Pardubice – Holice,[1] other lines came later. In 1914, bus transport in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia consisted of 23 lines in all, at which operated 33 postbuses and 13 private buses. During the World War I, bus transport was interrupted, vehicles were requisitioned by the army and rebuild to trucks.[2]
Since 1918, post bus transport continued in Czechoslovakia. The post transport had its main base place at Citadela, a former army depot in Vyšehrad, Prague, and in 1926 it had 216 buses in the whole Czechoslovakia. In 1927, the Citadela base with many equipment and material was burned by fire. The second main base place was built in Vršovice, Prague (currently Veolia Transport resides there). In 1927 the Czechoslovak state railway company ČSD began its state bus lines but the post lines continued. In 1933-1934 state postbus lines were transferred and merged with railway bus lines into ČSD railway company.[2]
In Germany, the postbus system existed until May 1985 and was known as Kraftpost.
In some parts of rural Sweden, especially the sparsely populated northern inland mail is delivered by bus. Formerly this service was handled by the postal service themselves in their own buses and livery. As Postens Diligenstrafik (lit. the Post's stagecoach traffic) between the years 1923-1991. In 1991 this became a part of the Swebus company. Nowadays it's handled by the local councils own public transportation buses by appointment of the postal service. Due to deregulations since the early 1990s some lines are run as public service obligations by private contractors. In addition to that there is an association of local bus companies called Bussgods. Which works as a courier for bulkier goods between bus stops and/or terminals. Unlike the British postbuses these vehicles are built on full-size coaches chassis with a box body and a tail lift in the rear end. This to accommodate heavier goods and even pallets sent along with the mail. This unusual truck/bus combination is nicknamed "Skvader".
In Switzerland, the postbus system is known as Postauto in German, Car postal in French and Autopostale in Italian. 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. The company operates 798 bus lines with 1,995 buses in Switzerland, transporting over 100 million passengers annually on its 10,363 km long network.
In the United Kingdom postbus services by Royal Mail began in 1967 to replace rapidly declining local bus and rail services in rural areas and provide a community service. As of 2006 more than 200 services are operated by Royal Mail, often only once or twice a day but in some areas are the only form of public transport available. Key areas include the Yorkshire Dales and South West Scotland.
In April 2009 the Royal Mail chose to end their post-bus services in much of the Scottish Highlands and Islands region. Five "unprofitable" routes were cancelled. The move proved very unpopular with campaigners. Discussions between the Highland Council and Royal Mail broke down after the Royal Mail refused to respond to the Highland Council's emails. The services have currently been replaced by a service operated by Stagecoach.