PostBus is growing in France and has won four public tenders. This has boosted its sales in France by over 11 million to 26 million euros. The competitive position of PostBus was confirmed by the renewal of its contract to operate the bus network in Dole, which it has been doing since 2004.

In southern France, PostBus won three tenders for regional bus networks in the towns of Montpellier, Agde and Béziers in the department of Hérault. Each franchise is set to run for six years. In addition, PostBus has concluded a limited term operating contract for the Agde conurbation for eight months. 60 vehicles and around 70 employees will be deployed by PostBus in this department, generating annual turnover of CHF 8.2 million (EUR 5.3 million). PostBus is therefore well positioned to clinch the final tender for the operating contract in Agde, which will be awarded this winter. PostBus has been represented in southern France since 2008 with a branch in Narbonne. It operates public bus routes and school bus services as well as organizing tourist excursions, staff transport and occasional trips for companies, organizations and the public sector.

Express bus in the Grenoble area

PostBus will also be operating an express bus route in France. In the next four years, travellers in the Grenoble conurbation (department of Isère) will benefit from PostBus's experience. The express bus route will operate with 43 employees and 28 buses. Annual turnover is set to amount to CHF 5.1 million (EUR 3.3 million).

PostBus has operated the urban network in Dole in the region of Franche-Comté since 2004. It was put out to tender again this spring. PostBus submitted a new concept involving expansion of the service and has now won the contract for the next seven years. Annual turnover in Dole will treble from CHF 1.8 to CHF 5.4 million (from EUR 1.2 million to EUR 3.6 million), and 35 drivers and 23 buses will be deployed there. This again confirms the sustainable competitiveness of PostBus.

Ten bus networks and turnover of CHF 40 million

PostBus's growth strategy in France has been confirmed by the four new contracts. PostBus won a tender for a contract exceeding EUR 1 million in Mâcon in the département of Saône-et-Loire in March. With these latest successes, PostBus now operates ten bus networks and a tourism office (Narbonne) in France through its own companies. In France, PostBus employs 373 staff, deploys 221 vehicles and generates turnover of around CHF 40 million (EUR 26 million). The success factors that helped PostBus win the contracts included the quality of its bids, the good references from networks already operating in France, and the reliability of PostBus as demonstrated on a daily basis in Switzerland.