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Once the profitable telecoms had been sold off what was left of the PTT
became simply 'Die Post' and things would never to be the same again .
Early signs came in 1996 when I arrived at St.Gallen and could hardly
believe my eyes for I was confronted by a double-decker. It seemed most
wierd at a time when in Britain these buses were going out of fashion
even in cities, yet the Swiss who had previously been so cautious regarding
vehicle suitability should sanction these monsters for alpine roads to
avoid duplications. The first, P28000 from Heiden wore what was to be
the new livery and even the yellow was no longer 'post bus yellow' but
bought off the shelf. Indeed the golden days were over as the business
had to be self-supporting and what had been one of Switzerland's 'sacred
cows' became prone to ruthless cost-cutting and reoganisation. I don't
know whether the service has deteriorated or not but it was no longer
so special to me, and I'm so glad I caught so much on film and even the
Swiss bus sounds on tape..
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