An award for Ticino’s first electric buses

PostBus put the first electric buses into service in Bellinzona in May 2025. They are the first electric buses to be used in road-based public transport in the canton of Ticino. The six fossil fuel-free vehicles are operated within the tpb network. The electric buses serve route 1: Castione FFS–Arbedo–Bellinzona FFS–Giubiasco FFS–Camorino.

To mark this important milestone, an inauguration event was held at the PostBus depot in Bellinzona on the morning of 15 May. It was attended by Claudio Zali, Director of the Department of Planning of the Canton of Ticino; Mattia Lepori, Communal Councillor for the City of Bellinzona and Chair of the Regional Commission for Transport in the Bellinzona Region; Alex Malinverno, Head of Market & Customers South at PostBus; and Massimo Mobiglia, President of WWF Svizzera italiana. As a symbolic gesture, guests had the opportunity to charge the new electric Postbuses for the first time.

A clean and quiet ride

The buses are 12 metres long, can accommodate 28 seated and 39 standing passengers and are equipped with the usual facilities. The new eCitaro electric Postbuses are not just free of fossil fuels, they also offer an impressively quiet and smooth ride. This benefits passengers, drivers and residents along PostBus routes.

The introduction of the first six electric Postbuses in Bellinzona will save 146,000 litres of diesel a year, preventing 373 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Each bus is fitted with six battery packs that provide total power output of 420 kWh. PostBus will recharge the buses at the Bellinzona depot, where the required charging infrastructure has been installed in recent months. This includes two transformers, rectifiers and a total of seven charging points for individual Postbuses. 1.5 km of electric cable ducts were laid during the construction work.

Bellinzona’s infrastructure is ready

The final depot structure will include 17 charging points with the ability to charge more than 40 vehicles because PostBus is gradually converting its vehicles to electric drive systems. PostBus operates throughout the canton of Ticino and intends to convert the entire fleet to alternative engines, after which there will no longer be any diesel-powered Postbuses operating in Ticino.

Award from WWF

At the event held in Bellinzona, WWF Svizzera italiana presented PostBus with the FossilFree '24-'25 award for electrifying its vehicle fleet.  Massimo Mobiglia, President of WWF Svizzera italiana, said: “PostBus Ltd is the first company to use fully electric buses in the canton of Ticino, a milestone on our path to a zero-emission road-based public service in our region.
We congratulate PostBus on this exemplary commitment to the climate, air quality and a first-class, cutting-edge service for the public in Italian-speaking Switzerland.”