According to a press release from the municipal council of Saanen, Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus, Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad, Hotelierverein Gstaad-Saanenland, and the municipality of Saanen decided in early summer to include public transport in the ski pass for the next two winter seasons and to share the costs.

At the same time, they decided not to continue the ski bus service as in previous years due to low passenger numbers and the disproportionate costs. The municipal council was informed about the planned suspension of the ski bus service. "On 13 July, the council took note and approved of the decision," said the president of the municipality, Toni von Grüningen.

Resistance from the population
The decision to suspend the ski bus triggered numerous critical letters to the editor in the local press and a collection of signatures. Last week, Martin Hefti from Schönried, who had initiated the collection of signatures, handed over a petition containing 565 signatures, which had been collected in just two weeks. In the petition, he demanded that the continuation of the ski bus service be decided by the municipal assembly on 3 December 2021.

However, the municipal council did not wait until December but discussed the new situation last Tuesday, given the urgency. Within the scope of its financial competence, it decided to continue the ski bus on the Saanen route (Gstaad Bahnhof – Gstaad Bellerive – Saanen Talstation Eggli – Saanen Bahnhof – Saanen Spitzhorn – Saanen Wyssmülleri) for the winters 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Gstaad and Rougemont will not be served
The routes to Gstaad and Rougemont will not be continued, though. According to the municipal council, the decision to abandon the Gstaad route is justifiable because the Eggli and Wispile valley stations are adequately served by the existing public transport system (Post bus), which can be used free of charge by all ski ticket holders.

André Reichenbach, municipal councillor of Rougemont, explained that the service to La Videmanette station had too few passengers and could only be operated at disproportionate cost. "Besides, the walk from the train station to the cable car station takes just seven minutes," said Reichenbach.

Sustainable future
And what is to happen after the two-year extension? "Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus has been commissioned to develop a concept and to show how the issue of sustainable mobility in tourism should look like in the future," informed tourism director Flurin Riedi.

Based on AvS/Sonja Wolf