How the Säuliamt district fought for its Postbus

Fredi Räber (72) sees the Postbus as a piece of culture. Driven by his passion, the retired teacher spent three years doing research for his book on the Postbus’ 100-year history in the Säuliamt district. No one else knows the topic as well as he does. Fredi Räber has been taking photos of Postbuses in the Säuliamt district for four decades now, and he has been the proud owner of a vintage Postbus for 37 years. “During my research, I came across some incredibly interesting material. We use this means of transport every day in the Säuliamt district without knowing the history behind it. I wanted to change that and enlighten the district about its Postbus history. After all, alongside the often-described railway and the famous Swiss Alpine post, the Postbus unfortunately leads a shadowy literary existence in the rural areas of the Swiss plateau, despite its great economic significance.

No sooner said than done. To remedy this, Fredi Räber decided to dedicate an entire book to this 100-year history. He also took care of the layout and illustrations. The over 100-page book entitled “Our Postbus – culture on wheels” is available as the 2025 New Year’s publication of the non-profit association of the Affoltern district.

Meticulous research

Fredi Räber patiently typed up all the facts from his numerous sources on his computer. He discovered that the Postbus service had to be fought for “by pioneers, forward-thinkers and optimists”, and certainly wasn’t a given. He explains the title “Our Postbus” as follows: our ancestors created and developed it, our population uses it and can hardly do without it, our canton finances and organizes it today and our wallets contribute to it. Fan Fredi Räber firmly believes that the Postbus culture encompasses an incredible variety of factors, such as the behaviour on the bus among passengers, respect for travel service providers, the accessibility of rural areas and the treatment of disadvantaged members of our society. "All this and more is part of our Postbus history – it's actually unbelievable!” He sees his book as a call to take care of our public transport network, our region and the community spirit that ultimately underpins everything.

He’s the proud owner of a Postbus Alpenwagen dating back to 1963. He enjoys taking his FBW Postbus to vintage vehicle conventions, where he can chat with friends and visitors who are interested in old technology and the history of Swiss bus manufacturing. He is also a regular Postbus passenger and appreciates the service provided by the drivers. “It’s an identity-defining task that goes far beyond driving and deserves more attention and recognition. Sitting behind the wheel is a service at a key position in society!” PostBus would like to sincerely thank Fredi Räber for his homage.

In the video, Fredi Räber shares his thoughts on the Postbus in the Säuliamt district.

You can purchase the book “Our Postbus – culture on wheels” (2025 New Year’s publication) for 30 francs here:
- Scheidegger bookshop in Affoltern am Albis info@scheidegger-buecher.ch
- Non-profit association of the Affoltern district, info@ggaffoltern.ch