DPD to expand Swiss express service as night driving ban end

DPD has said it is no longer subject to a night-time driving ban in Switzerland – allowing it to deliver parcels earlier in the morning within the Confederation. Private postal operators had been fighting for years for equal rights to night-time driving within Switzerland, and DPD says new regulation finally came into force last month to allow it.

DPD said the end of the night-time driving ban will mean it can open up its supply chain system and compete with the kind of flexible performance that only Swiss Post could provide previously.

Parcel carrier trucks run by private operators will now be able to drive between 10pm and 5am, and use road transport for longer distances.

Marc Hasler, the DPD Switzerland chief executive, said: “With overnight service, DPD is finally able to deliver packages on the following day, even during the course of the morning.”

DPD said the transformation of its long-distance network is already well advanced, and in particular areas of French-speaking western Switzerland, and around Valais and Ticino, will benefit from the opening up of driving hours.

The carrier, part of La Poste’s GeoPost Group, said that with the new and improved delivery times, it can now expand its express service to the whole of Switzerland and in future should allow the provision of time-definite express delivery in the whole country.

DPD says it is currently the biggest private-sector parcel carrier in Switzerland, with around a 10% market share.

The company employs 800 staff in 11 distribution centres, handling about 15m packages a year in the country.