Animals show which PostAuto bus takes children to school

Only a few days remain until the start of the new school year, which for many young children will also bring their first independent journeys. Learning the route to school is a new task in itself, while choosing the right bus can be particularly difficult for the youngest pupils. In Switzerland, several places are therefore helping schoolchildren with an unusual yet extremely simple method: alongside numbers and inscriptions, easily recognisable animal figures show them which bus they need to board.

There are several versions of the solution used by PostAuto. In the Val Müstair region in the canton of Graubünden, for example, large plush ravens have been travelling for around twelve years in a clearly visible position in the driver’s cab of buses carrying schoolchildren. This means the children do not have to remember route or run numbers that may still be difficult for them to interpret: it is enough for them to know that they need to take the “raven PostAuto”.

The initiative, which now goes back more than a decade, came from local teachers, and PostAuto was quick to embrace the simple yet practical idea. Before the start of the new school year, children and their parents are informed about which sign they should look for, so by the time they set off on their own for the first time, they know exactly which PostAuto bus they need to board. The use of plush animals has since become a familiar part of local school transport, and according to the company’s experience, the system has also proved its worth in practice.

In western Switzerland, the same basic principle is applied through a much more elaborate visual system. On PostAuto’s ScolaCar school buses, a whole series of colourful animal figures helps children find the right vehicle. For example, bus 1 does not necessarily have to be identified by the number “1”: it is associated with a whale, while vehicle 12 is marked by an elephant. The system includes a whale, a parrot, a hippopotamus and a pig, among others, with a total of 17 different animal symbols in use.

The idea for the western Swiss system dates back to 2021. A teacher working near Lausanne raised the question of whether the traditional markings used on school buses were really suitable for all children. The issue was particularly relevant for those who, because of their age, could not yet read or count, or could do so only with difficulty.

Nicolas Ferrero, PostAuto’s coordinator responsible for school transport, therefore set about developing a marking system that would be practical, usable from an educational point of view, and easy to recognise even for the youngest children. The solution ultimately combined three elements: each vehicle is assigned a colour, a number and an animal figure. This allows a child to identify the correct bus even if the number alone is not yet a reliable point of reference for them.

PostAuto did not have to look far even for the illustrations. One of the company’s school bus drivers at the time also worked as a children’s book illustrator, and created all 17 animal figures. These drawings were applied to the entire ScolaCar fleet in August 2022, and they are still in use today. The markings were positioned so they are clearly visible before boarding: they can be found on the rear of the vehicles as well as on the left side of the main passenger door.

According to PostAuto’s experience, since the introduction of the system, situations in which a child does not know which school bus to board have virtually disappeared. The special feature of the solution lies precisely in its simplicity: there is no need for an app, an electronic display or any other technical device, only a visual sign that a kindergarten-age child or young pupil can recognise immediately.

PostAuto says the first period after starting school is a formative experience for children, which is why making orientation easier is not only a practical matter, but also a question of safety and education. Nicolas Ferrero hopes the system will also have another benefit in the longer term: that the children now waiting for their school bus may, as adults, remember the “hippo” or “octopus” PostAuto in the same way others remember their first school bag or their first day at school.