When the group outgrows a minibus: the full-size coach

What a coach can and cannot reach

A coach is a heavy vehicle, over 3.5 t, and Swiss towns and resorts treat it that way. Day-trip coaches may not enter St. Moritz Dorf; they stop only at two terminals, for ten minutes at most. Zermatt is car-free, so the coach stops at Täsch. In Lucerne, stopping in the old town needs a permit booked online beforehand.

Mountain shortcuts are fewer too. The Lötschberg car-carrying train takes buses with at most 22 seats, so a full-size coach heading between the Bernese Oberland and the Valais takes the Grimsel pass in summer, or the motorways via Bern and Lausanne all year. The Vereina train in Graubünden does take coaches, with limits for tall vehicles on winter weekends.

On board

• The Swiss Sunday and night driving ban (22:00-05:00) does not apply to vehicles for passenger transport (Art. 91 Abs. 2 and Art. 91a Abs. 1 Bst. a VRV)
• Coaches pay the flat-rate heavy vehicle fee (pauschale Schwerverkehrsabgabe, PSVA) instead of the motorway vignette (Art. 4 Abs. 2 SVAG; Art. 3 SVAV; Art. 3 Abs. 2 NSAG); for a foreign coach the fee is paid before it becomes due, giving the dates of entry into and exit from Switzerland (Art. 79 SVAV)
• Where seat belts are fitted, every passenger must wear them while the vehicle is moving, and passengers in coaches must be told about this in a suitable way (Art. 3a Abs. 1 and 3 VRV)
• Drivers come under the drivers' hours ordinance ARV 1 (Art. 3 Abs. 1 Bst. b ARV 1), and the coach must have a digital tachograph (Art. 100 Abs. 1 Bst. a VTS)
• On motorways and semi-motorways (Autostrassen) the limit for a Gesellschaftswagen is 100 km/h; articulated buses and buses on public scheduled services with authorised standing places are excluded (Art. 5 Abs. 2 Bst. a VRV). On other roads heavy motor vehicles may not exceed 80 km/h (Art. 5 Abs. 1 Bst. a VRV), and lower general or signed limits (such as 50 km/h in built-up areas) apply
• Professional drivers also need the certificate of professional competence for passenger transport (Fähigkeitsausweis, CZV); it is valid for five years and is renewed with 35 hours of further training (Art. 2, 9 and 18 CZV)
• The driver needs a category D licence, for passenger vehicles with more than eight seats besides the driver (Art. 3 Abs. 1 VZV); the minimum age is 21 (Art. 6 Abs. 1 Bst. e VZV)
• A coach is a Gesellschaftswagen: a heavy motor vehicle (over 3.5 t) for passengers with more than nine seats including the driver (Art. 11 Abs. 2 Bst. d VTS)
• The federal passenger-transport concession covers regular and commercial passenger transport (Art. 1 Abs. 2 and Art. 6 PBG); "regular" means more than two trips between the same places within 15 days (Art. 2 Abs. 1 Bst. a PBG). A one-off group hire is not regular, so it needs no concession; trips taking pre-formed groups and bringing each group back to its starting point in the same vehicle (Rundfahrten) are expressly exempt (Art. 8 Abs. 1 Bst. f VPB)
• To be admitted, the undertaking must be reliable, financially sound and professionally competent and must have a real and permanent seat in Switzerland (Art. 4 Abs. 1 STUG)
• A company that carries passengers commercially in vehicles built for more than eight people besides the driver needs an admission as a road transport undertaking (Zulassungsbewilligung) under Art. 3 Abs. 1bis Bst. a STUG; it is issued by the Federal Office of Transport (BAV), is valid for five years and is personal and not transferable (Art. 3 Abs. 2 STUG), and a certified copy must be carried on every vehicle (Art. 3 Abs. 3 STUG)

On board

Where seat belts are fitted, every passenger wears one while the coach moves, and passengers must be told about it at the start. In a coach, children from 4 need no child seat, which keeps school outings simple.

The driver holds a category D licence and the professional certificate, follows the drivers' hours rules and records them on a digital tachograph. The coach pays the flat-rate heavy vehicle fee rather than buying a vignette.

Questions travellers ask

Is one coach better than three minibuses?

For one timetable and one destination, usually yes. If the group splits during the day, or the venues sit on tight roads, several minibuses give more freedom.

Can a coach drive up to our mountain hotel?

That depends on the road and the resort's rules. The operator checks the route and the nearest permitted stop before confirming.

How much luggage fits?

Underfloor holds give a coach far more room than a minibus. Still, list skis, instruments and anything bulky with the booking.

Other trips we arrange

• Company days out and congress weeks, one minibus at a time
• Ski week transfers: airport to chalet in one minibus
• Class outings sized to fit one vehicle
• Away days for clubs, squads and supporters
• Getting your wedding guests there, and home again
• Day trips by minibus: lakes, falls and panoramic trains
• From the gangway to your next stop by minibus
• Accessible trips for groups with wheelchair users

Need a full-size coach?

Send the date, the headcount, the luggage and every stop. A licensed partner operator provides the coach and its driver, or a mix of coach and minibuses if that suits the day better.

Request a quote or call 35227647770