175 years in the service of the public
Swiss Post from 1849 to the present day
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2022
Swiss Post delivers parcels and letters on time
In 2022, 97.2 percent of A Mail letters and 99.3 percent of B Mail letters reach their recipients on time. For parcels, 95.7 per cent of Priority items and 96.9 per cent of Economy items arrive on time.
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2020
Swiss Post during the coronavirus crisis
As a result of the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular due to the steep rise in online retail, Swiss Post delivers more parcels than ever before: 182.7 million – an all-time record.
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2016
Switzerland debates the public service
In 2016, voters reject the “Pro Service public” popular initiative, with 67.6% voting no. The initiative had attempted to prohibit enterprises affiliated with the Confederation in the area of the universal service from seeking profit and cross-subsidization, and to enact provisions governing wages. The Federal Council and Parliament had recommended rejection of the initiative. As a result of the ballot decision, customers continue to receive a high-quality public service without Swiss Post, SBB and Swisscom losing the entrepreneurial freedom they require.
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2012
New postal legislation comes into force
Following Parliament’s adoption of the comprehensive revision of the Postal Services Act and Postal Services Organization Act in December 2010, the Federal Council resolves to bring the new postal legislation into force in 2012. This legislation continues to constitute the legal basis for Swiss Post’s operations, on the one hand setting out the conditions under which Swiss Post must ensure the universal service, and on the other regulating the postal market.
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2004
Parcel monopoly falls
The parcel market is fully deregulated and parcel post achieves profitability. in 2006, the letter monopoly is reduced to 100 g, in 2009 to 50 g.
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2002
Holistic analysis of Swiss Post services
The Federal Council puts forward to Parliament a “Holistic analysis of the further development of Swiss Post services in Switzerland”. In it, the Federal Council takes stock and sets out its postal policy for the coming years, preparing the way for a gradual opening of the postal market and laying the groundwork for the comprehensive revision of postal legislation that will come into force ten years later.
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1998
End of the PTT
The PTT is dissolved and split up into Swiss Post and Swisscom Ltd, marking the end of more than 70 years of shared history. The new Postal Services Act replaces the Act of 1924.
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1964
Introduction of postcodes
Postcodes are introduced on 1 October 1964, leading to a massive simplification of sorting. From this point on, in-depth geographical knowledge is no longer required. The postcode system forms the basis for the later introduction of automatic sorting.
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1945
The Postbus as an everyday means of transport
Operating as an extension of rail transport, PostBus together with other rural bus operators opens up remote regions – including for tourism. Postbuses also serve as an everyday means of transport in urban agglomerations. Even today, 578 of Switzerland’s 2,148 municipalities (i.e. over 25 percent) can be reached by public transport only thanks to PostBus.
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1918
Swiss Post struggles with Spanish flu
As the Spanish flu spreads in the summer of 1918, mail carriers, who by the nature of their work are heavily exposed, succumb in large numbers. It proves impossible to maintain operations in all places.
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1914–1945
Swiss Post as intermediary during the world wars
Working with the Red Cross, Swiss Post carries several hundred million postage-free consignments from prisoners of war and internees. And after the mobilizations of 1914 and 1939, the volume of Swiss military mail skyrockets – postage-free field post accounts for up to 25 percent of domestic letters.
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1906
Swiss Post in motion – the first Postbus
The first automobile mail route connects Bern with Detligen. The distinctive “toot-to-tooot”, however, is not heard until years later.
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1906
Payment transactions via Swiss Post
Swiss Post is assigned a “Postcheque and giro service”. Thanks to its dense network of 4,000 operating locations, it offers ideal conditions for this. In principle, anyone can now open an account and make cashless transfers.
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1889
Between civilian and military
Field post is established. Its basic mandate: to provide postal services for the army and its troops, serving as a bridge between civilian and military life.
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1870
“Greetings from…”
Switzerland is the fourth country in the world to introduce the postcard. The postage costs just half that of a letter. As tourism takes off, the following decades see a veritable boom in postcards.
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1857
The Railway Mail Service is introduced
From the 1850s, the backbone of postal transport is the Railway Mail Service. Mail is sorted en route in specially designated carriages. Before the introduction of postcodes, this work requires very good knowledge of geography and the PTT transport system.
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1849
Swiss Post: how it all began
The newly established federal state unifies – and improves – the postal system. The Swiss federal postal service replaces the cantonal postal administrations. From this point on, it is responsible for transporting letters, parcels, people and cash remittances.
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Image sources:
1964: Sorting at the Sihlpost post office, 1965, ETH Library Zurich, image archive.
1945: Postbus at the Rhine Falls, PTT Archive, Köniz.
1918: Statistics on the Spanish flu, PTT Archive, Köniz
1914-1945: Prisoner-of-war mail in Basel, mail bags piled up for onward transport, circa 1945, Robert Spreng (photographer), Museum of Communication, Bern.
1906 Swiss Post in motion – the first Postbus: the first generation of Postbuses in the yard at the main post office in Bern, 1906, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1906 Payment transactions via Swiss Post: Postcheque counter at the main post office in Geneva, 1935, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1889: Field post officers and men in Renens, 1895, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1870: Postcard from circa 1900 with a picture and the inscription “Greetings from Lucerne”, Gebrüder Metz, Kunstverlags-Anstalt Basel (ed.), Museum of Communication, Bern.
1857: Railway Mail Service postal workers sorting en route on the Basel-Belfort line, 1926, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1849: Mail coaches and employees in front of the post office in Effretikon at the end of the 19th century, PTT Archive, Köniz.