How PostAuto Reinvented its Business Model for the 21st Century
With a fleet of 2,400 vehicles, a network spanning more than 12,000 kilometers, and 155 million passengers transported every year, PostAuto is the market leader in public bus transport in Switzerland. For more than 100 years, the subsidiary of the Swiss Post has provided regional and rural bus services throughout the entire country.
In the past century, the traditional company has witnessed many radical changes: the stagecoaches evolved into motorized buses, the parcel delivery was split from public transportation, and the fleet was modernized with fuel cell technology and Wi-Fi
The Challenge
Having always been at the forefront of innovation, PostAuto viewed the emergence of digital technologies as an opportunity to extend their existing range of public transport services.
Being aware of mobility trends such as on-demand mobility or mobility-as-a-service, they developed an idea of how to leverage digitization to create additional value for their customers: a door-to-door ridesharing service.
However, since it was not clear whether there was a need for such a service in Switzerland, nor how to implement such a service in a rural area, Postbus was looking for a way to test its idea in a low-risk and low-cost way.
Our Approach
PostAuto needed a methodical way to de-risk its idea and learn fast, so they chose the BMI Launchpad, an end-to-end program that takes teams from first concept to market launch in about six months.
We started with Step 0, Business model concept: using BMI Pattern Cards to turn the idea into a clear model, we identified the most relevant customer segments, mapped the critical assumptions and set a testing roadmap.
In Step 1, Problem and solution fit, we mapped the ecosystem and ran more than 30 interviews to verify needs; this refined the concept, surfaced the key stakeholders and highlighted consumer trends and technologies to watch.
Step 2, Product and market fit, quantified the insights through a survey and produced a service blueprint for the pilot; along the way we mapped the customer journey, finalised the blueprint and identified the partners required.
Finally, Step 3, Pilot market launch, put the ride-sharing service Kollibri on the road with several partners, delivering a working user app, a minibus fleet operated by taxi drivers and rich data insights for PostAuto in its role as the orchestrator.
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Impact
“Kollibri has landed successfully, “is how PostAuto concluded the pilot project one year after offering its first shared ride. After completing an average of 25 rides a day, transporting 1230 individual users to their doorsteps, and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback, they found that door-to-door shuttle services meet a customer need for on-demand transportation on the first and last mile.
Valuable insights
The primary goal of PostAuto was to learn as much as possible about mobility as a service and to determine under which economic conditions an on-demand service could be operated in rural Switzerland. Thanks to BML Lab’s assumption-based approach, PostAuto was able to learn
more about their passengers’ needs, and swiftly act upon their findings.
For example, when realizing that many users booked rides to or from train stations, they offered a special discount for travelers with public transportation subscriptions were able to significantly increase the number of rides. Not only will these insights inform future follow-up projects, but they can also be used to improve the current offerings, such as bus schedules and routes.
Follow-up projects
Since PostAuto was able to establish a broad acceptance of on-demand solutions among the general public, they decided to set up a separate department for mobility as a service. Based on the insights gained in the Brugg region project, numerous other areas of application were subsequently tested: Kollibri as a complement to public transportation, Kollibri as a substitute for public transportation in peripheral areas or at off-peak times, and Kollibri Junior – a service that relieves parents of regular trips to sports or music lessons. With each project, PostAuto is able to gain new insights and refine its offering.
But the initiative did not only have an external impact. Developing and operating such a digital product creates new competencies which must not be contained to the new department for mobility as a service. Leveraging their new technologies and skills, PostAuto is now also digitizing its core business products and processes.
Georg von der Ropp
Key Learnings & Next Steps
Test assumptions with real riders, watch the data, and adjust fast. That approach validated first and last mile demand and gave insights to refine pricing, partners, and even core bus schedules.
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