The Role of Swiss Postbus Reading Answers

Oct 31, 2025

The reading answers for "The Role of Swiss Postbus" include 13 questions and are part of the evaluation framework for the IELTS General Reading assessment. Test takers are allotted 20 minutes to complete the reading answers related to "The Role of Swiss Postbus." This section of the IELTS reading test features different question formats, such as Do the following statements agree with the information given, and choosing the correct letter.

The Role of Swiss Postbus Reading Answers offer an in-depth look at Switzerland’s postbus network, which is the backbone of its transport system, connecting even the most remote villages and integrating seamlessly with trains and boats. More than just transport, postbuses serve as lifelines—carrying people, goods, and traditions across the mountains while preserving a proud cultural heritage. For additional practice with similar reading assessments, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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The Role of Swiss Postbus Reading Answers

Switzerland’s postbuses are much more than a means of public transportation. The Swiss PostBus Limited is the largest of the country’s 78 coach companies. Administered by the Motor Services Department of the Post Office, it carries over 120 million passengers each year and is carefully integrated with other public transport services: trains, boats and mountain cableways. The Swiss transportation system resembles a tree, with the larger branches representing federal and private railways, the smaller branches being the coaches, and the smaller twigs being the urban transit operators running trams, city buses, boats, chairlifts and so on. But the trunk that holds the tree together is at its very heart the postbus network, without which the rest could not function.

There is not an inhabited place in Switzerland that cannot be reached by some form of public transport. Federal law and the Swiss Constitution stipulate that every village with a population greater than 40 is entitled to regular bus services. The frequency of these services is directly related to population density. Timetables are put together four years in advance, and seldom change. If a new route is to be introduced, the population of the area affected is invited to vote in a referendum.

At times, postbuses – sometimes the only – links between settlements. These coaches, often with a trailer in tow to increase their capacity, are a common sight in high-altitude regions, and their signature sound – part of Rossini’s William Tell Overture, played by the drivers on three-tone post horns with electrical compressors on winding road turn – is one of the most familiar Swiss sounds.

The three-tone horns can still be used to ‘talk’ to post offices and each other by tone. By altering the combination of the tones, a driver can indicate ‘departure of post’, ‘arrival of post’, ‘arrival of special post’, and so on – so much more romantic and more reliable than radio or mobile phones. This musical ‘language’ started in the mid-nineteenth century and initially each horn was required to be sounded a certain number of times on approaching a stop to indicate the number of horses needing to be fed, giving the stationmaster time to prepare the feed.

The role of postal history goes back to 1849, when the Swiss postal service was made a state monopoly. The very first modern Swiss postbuses were based on horse-drawn carriages (or in winter by sleighs, in order to travel on snow), which were the same until the First World War. By 1914, eight years after the first motor coaches entered service, Swiss Post owned 2,231 coaches (or carriages) and 1,059 sleighs in service. After the First World War, Swiss Post bought a fleet of decommissioned military trucks which were converted into postbuses, but it was not until 1961 that the last horse-drawn coach was replaced with a motorcoach.

Today, the Swiss Post Office boasts one of the world’s most advanced coach fleets, including fuel-cell models and the world’s first driverless bus. This was launched in 2015 in the town of Sion, the capital of the Valais canton, which is one of the 26 cantonal administrative regions that make up the country. Postbuses often go to places that other means of transport cannot reach. Most of the drivers therefore see themselves as educators and tour guides. Although it’s not in their job description, they’re always ready to pull over for a photo to point out the sights – waterfalls, gorges, and so on – and are always ready to pull over for a photo opportunity.

Switzerland’s longest postbus journey, and one of the highest, crosses four mountain passes in an eight-hour trip undertaken by a single postbus. The route goes through several cantons; two languages (German and Italian), all four seasons – from burning sunshine to wind and heavy snowfalls; and countless places of interest. One of these, the Gotthard Pass, is known as the ‘People’s Road’, because since Roman times it connects the German-speaking canton of Uri with Italian-speaking Ticino.

Like Switzerland itself, postbuses ‘speak’ all four state languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh – and, by law, their automated intercom announcements are given in the language of whichever canton the bus is currently passing through. Irrespective of their previous experience, drivers undergo two years of training. During the first year, they have to ride in the postbus every route announced over a mountain bus.

Some routes are not at all busy, with the buses driving past empty stops at a time. But for most people living in small mountain villages, the postbus is the ultimate transport. It not only carries the villagers to town and back, it takes village children to school, carries milk and farm produce from the village farms down to the valley collection points, takes elderly villagers to hospital anywhere in the mountains, and brings building materials to households. It takes elderly villagers to hospital and carries their shopping up the hill to their houses. More than just a means of transportation, for the dwellers of mountain villages the postbus is an essential part of life.

Questions 28-32

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

28 When comparing the Swiss transportation system to a tree, the writer emphasises

the size of the postbus system.
how competitive the postbus system is.
how important the postbus system is.
the threat to the postbus system.

Answer: how important the postbus system is

Supporting statement: “...the trunk that holds the tree together is at its very heart the postbus network, without which the rest could not function.”

Keywords: trunk, holds the tree together, postbus network

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, Lines 7–8

Explanation: The metaphor comparing the transport system to a tree shows that the postbus network is central to the functioning of all other transport systems, emphasizing its importance rather than size or competition.

29 What is said about bus services in the second paragraph?

A Villages have the chance to request more buses every four years.

B New routes are often introduced to reflect an increase in population.

C Bus timetables tend to change every four years.

D The number of buses that call at a village depends on how many people live there

Answer: The number of buses that call at a village depends on how many people live there

Supporting statement: “The frequency of these services is directly related to population density.”

Keywords: frequency, services, population density

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, Line 3

Explanation: The statement shows that bus frequency (number of buses) is determined by population size, meaning more people = more buses.

30 According to the fourth paragraph, what were three-tone horns first used to indicate?

how many coach horses required food
how long the bus would stay at the station
how many passengers wanted a meal
how soon the bus would arrive at the station

Answer: how many coach horses required food

Supporting statement: “...each horn was required to be sounded a certain number of times on approaching a stop to indicate the number of horses needing to be fed...”

Keywords: horn, number of times, horses, fed

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, Lines 6–8

Explanation: Initially, the three-tone horns were used as a communication tool to indicate how many horses needed feeding, not for timing or arrival information.

31 What point does the writer make about the postbus drivers?

Many choose to give passengers information about the surroundings.
Most are proud of driving buses to places without other forms of transport.
They are required to inform passengers about the sights seen from the bus.
They are not allowed to stop for passengers to take photographs.

Answer: Many choose to give passengers information about the surroundings

Supporting statement: “Most of the drivers therefore see themselves as educators and tour guides... and are always ready to pull over for a photo opportunity.”

Keywords: drivers, educators, tour guides, photo opportunity

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Lines 6–8

Explanation: Drivers voluntarily act as guides by sharing information and stopping for photos, showing they choose to inform passengers.

32 What is said about the buses' automated announcements?

They are given in the language of the bus's starting point.
The language they are given in depends on where the bus is at the time.
They are always given in all the four languages of Switzerland.
The language they are given in depends on the bus's Destination.

Answer: The language they are given in depends on where the bus is at the time

Supporting statement: “...their automated intercom announcements are given in the language of whichever canton the bus is currently passing through.”

Keywords: intercom announcements, language, canton, currently passing through

Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, Lines 1–3

Explanation: Announcements change based on the bus’s current canton, confirming that location determines the language used.

QUESTIONS 33-40

DO THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AGREE WITH THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT?

IN BOXES 33-40 ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET, WRITE

TRUE IF THE STATEMENT AGREES WITH THE INFORMATION

FALSE IF THE STATEMENT CONTRADICTS THE INFORMATION

NOT GIVEN IF THERE IS NO INFORMATION ON THIS

33. Some postbuses after the First World War were originally army vehicles.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “After the First World War, Swiss Post bought a fleet of decommissioned military trucks which were converted into postbuses.”

Keywords: First World War, military trucks, converted, postbuses

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, Lines 5–6

Explanation: This clearly states that some postbuses were previously army vehicles, confirming the statement as true.

34. The number of driverless buses has increased steadily since 2015.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Supporting statement: No mention of an increase in the number of driverless buses after 2015.

Keywords: driverless bus, increase, 2015

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, Line 3

Explanation: The passage only mentions the launch of the first driverless bus in 2015 but gives no details about any increase afterward.

35. On the longest postbus route in Switzerland, passengers have to change buses.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “Switzerland’s longest postbus journey… undertaken by a single postbus.”

Keywords: longest postbus journey, single postbus

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, Lines 1–3

Explanation: The use of “single postbus” shows passengers do not need to change buses, so the statement is false.

36. The weather on the longest postbus route is likely to include extreme weather conditions.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “...crosses four mountain passes... all four seasons – from burning sunshine to wind and heavy snowfalls...”

Keywords: mountain passes, all four seasons, heavy snowfalls

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, Lines 3–5

Explanation: The wide range of weather conditions shows that the route includes extreme weather, making the statement true.

37. There is a widely used nickname for part of the longest route used by postbuses.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “One of these, the Gotthard Pass, is known as the ‘People’s Road’...”

Keywords: Gotthard Pass, People’s Road

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, Lines 6–7

Explanation: The phrase “People’s Road” is indeed a nickname, confirming that a part of the route has a widely used nickname.

38. Bus drivers' training can be shortened if they have driven buses before joining PostBus.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “Irrespective of their previous experience, drivers undergo two years of training.”

Keywords: previous experience, two years of training

Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, Lines 3–5

Explanation: The passage states all drivers complete two years of training regardless of experience, contradicting the idea that it can be shortened.

39. In some villages most passengers are school children

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage mentions buses take children to school, but it doesn’t say most passengers are schoolchildren, so it’s not given.

40. Buses carry only rubbish that can be recycled.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “...carries milk and farm produce from the village farms... and brings building materials to households.”

Keywords: milk, farm produce, building materials

Keyword Location: Paragraph 9, Lines 4–8

Explanation: Postbuses carry goods and materials, not rubbish. Hence, the statement about carrying only recyclable rubbish is false.

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