“By 2030, the current offer will no longer meet the needs of the population and businesses”, summed up the Commission’s experts on the universal postal service on Thursday. They see that life in Switzerland is becoming more and more digital and that sending parcels is becoming more and more important. Without calling into question its state mandate of universal service, they believe that La Poste must support these changes.
The number of letters sent annually has increased from 3 billion in 2002 to 1.7 billion in 2020. According to the commission, this figure will drop to one billion in 2030. Digital communication will be widespread and accepted in Switzerland. It is therefore conceivable that physical letters can only be delivered by B mail, three times a week. This proposal would reduce costs for La Poste.
This would also lead to a fall in the volume of letters, which would reduce the importance of the residual monopoly for the financing of the universal service. Its removal would be possible.
Saturday packages
The volume of parcels increased by 65% between 2002 and 2020 and the trend should continue, with an increase of around 25% by 2030. Switzerland will therefore always need a quality universal service on the whole of its territory. The law must continue to guarantee delivery on the working day following dispatch. It should also be examined whether a six-day parcel distribution makes sense, advise the experts.
End of newspaper distribution
On the other hand, newspapers will increasingly be distributed in digital form. Therefore, maintaining the universal service for the daily distribution of printed newspapers beyond 2030 would no longer be justified.
In terms of payment, it should always be possible to make a purchase at La Poste with a 10-franc note. Indeed, the experts want cash transactions to continue to be part of the universal service, “as long as there is no digital means of payment with comparable characteristics”.
