Eurolines (via local Swiss operator Alsa+Eggman) offer return fares to Salzburg and Vienna in Austria, Zagreb in Croatia, Munich in Germany, Braga, Coimbra, Faro, Guimaraes, Lisbon, Porto and many other destinations in Portugal. There are also services to Spain, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Poland and Serbia.
Busabout provides tickets in increments of 2, 3 or four weeks for most European cities on its hop-on hop-off network. Busabout also offers Flexipasses allowing various days' travel within a set period and its main routes into Switzerland are to Bern and Lucerne from the UK and many other European cities. There are reductions for passengers under 26 years of age.
Berlin Linien Bus has good coach services between various German cities, especially Berlin and the rest of Europe but has no direct connections with Switzerland.
Berlin Linien Bus (in German & English)
Gulliver's, also centered on Berlin, has good international bus services between various major German cities (Berlin, Hannover, Hamburg, Dresden) and the many destinations in Europe including Poland but no direct services to Switzerland.
Gulliver's (in German, English, Polish, French)
Switzerland's postbus network complements the rail network and links the major urban centers to the mountain villages. Bus timetables are linked to train schedules and departures are regular and punctual. Swiss travel passes are valid on buses as well as trains and there is a luggage-forwarding service to the post-office at your destination. Buses stations are usually located adjacent to Switzerland's train stations. Swiss postbuses are a distinctive yellow colour. The postbus system is called Postauto in German, Car postal in French and Autopostale in Italian.
There are fewer services at weekend or late evening. Some localities have their own bus services either in addition to postbuses or instead of them.
Information:
Postbus Tel: 0848 888 888, Mon-Fri 7.00 am to 7.00 pm; Sat 8am-1pm; www.postbus.ch
Swiss cities of any size have integrated bus and tram networks, either gasoline-driven or electric trolley buses.
Travel cards are usually valid for buses, trams, and even some boats. Types of travel cards usually include 24 and 72 hour cards. The Swiss Pass and Swiss Flexi-Pass also include free travel within most cities in Switzerland. (Cities are listed on the card). Tourist offices usually sell 24 and 72 hour travel cards.
There is a night bus system in some cities operating at weekends. Basel, Bern, Solothurn, Zurich all have a night-bus system. See mct.sbb.ch (German & French) for more details.
Purchase bus tickets from ticket machines at bus stops or pay single fares to the driver as you get on and enter your ticket or travel pass in the validating machine.
There are on-the-spot fines for non-compliance and traveling without a valid ticket issued by (usually plainclothes) ticket inspectors.
Trams in BaselMany Swiss towns have extensive tram (streetcar) networks. Expect only a short wait for the next tram to arrive. There are trams running in: Zurich, Basel, Bern and Geneva as well as in many other towns.
Check the tram stop (Haltestelle/ Arrêt) for tram numbers, maps, destinations and timetables.
There are fewer streetcar services on weekends and national holidays.
