RTB Rheintal Bus

RTB Rheintal Bus is a Swiss regional public-transport brand based in Altstätten in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley (Rheintal). Its history reaches back to 6 April 1897, when scheduled tram service began between Altstätten and Berneck under the name Altstätten–Berneck-Bahn. Over the twentieth century the undertaking evolved from a local tramway into a regional bus operator, and today RTB Rheintal Bus stands for public local transport in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, working together with transport authorities, the federal government and the Canton of St. Gallen to promote public transport generally. The brand is not an independent company today. In 2013 the three transport undertakings RTB Rheintal Bus, WilMobil and BUS Sarganserland Werdenberg were merged into BUS Ostschweiz AG (BOS), with their brands continued independently under a single umbrella. RTB Rheintal Bus therefore operates as a brand within the BOS Gruppe, whose registered office is at Schöntalstrasse 1, CH-9450 Altstätten. The parent company's market area has expanded beyond the original Rhine Valley: WilMobil joined in 2004, BUS Sarganserland Werdenberg in 2007, BOS took over the operational management of Autokurse Oberthurgau AG in 2019, and since December 2021 it has operated the bus network in the Principality of Liechtenstein. As a brand, RTB Rheintal Bus is associated with regional scheduled bus services, commuter and school transport, and integration into the Swiss public-transport ticketing landscape. The BOS website promotes services such as SBB Mobile and EasyRide, e-ticketing and automatic ticketing, the Bodensee-Ticket (which now also includes a stop in the Principality of Liechtenstein), the Friends day pass for travellers under 25, and combined public-transport offers for events such as OLMA. The group has also invested in electrification, announcing the successful commissioning of 14 new e-buses. RTB Rheintal Bus celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2022, marking the journey from the Altstätten–Berneck tramway to today's bus operation. Its identity is closely tied to the Rhine Valley and to the wider eastern Swiss public-transport network, and it remains an active, locally rooted transport brand under the BOS umbrella.

The origins of RTB Rheintal Bus lie in the Altstätten–Berneck-Bahn. On 6 April 1897, scheduled service began on the tramway between Altstätten and Berneck in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley. According to the company's own history, this achievement followed seven years of persistent pursuit of the idea, and the undertaking is described as the work of visionaries and doers past and present. For 125 years, RTB Rheintal Bus has stood for public local transport in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley and, together with the commissioning authorities, the federal government and the Canton of St. Gallen, for the general promotion of public transport. Over the decades the company developed progressively into further regions of eastern Switzerland and into the Principality of Liechtenstein, giving public transport there considerable weight and a widely noticed voice. In the last twenty years in particular, RTB Rheintal Bus underwent a remarkable transformation and skilfully expanded its market area. In 2004 it extended into the Wil region under the WilMobil brand, and in 2007 into the Sarganserland–Werdenberg region as BUS Sarganserland Werdenberg. A decisive structural change came in 2013, when all three transport undertakings were merged into BUS Ostschweiz AG (BOS). Their brands, including RTB Rheintal Bus, were continued independently under the uniform umbrella of the new group. The parent company's registered office is at Schöntalstrasse 1, CH-9450 Altstätten. Further expansion followed: in 2019 BUS Ostschweiz AG took over the operational management of Autokurse Oberthurgau AG, and since December 2021 it has operated the bus network in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The company states that further steps will follow. In 2022 RTB Rheintal Bus marked its 125th anniversary, looking back from its origins to the present and offering an outlook on the future. The anniversary narrative emphasises that each period is unique and lives from its own stories. Today the brand remains active within the BOS Gruppe, whose website presents services such as SBB Mobile and EasyRide, e-ticketing and automatic ticketing, the Bodensee-Ticket with its Liechtenstein stop, the Friends day pass for travellers under 25, and public-transport travel offers for events such as OLMA. The group has also announced the successful commissioning of 14 new e-buses, reflecting the ongoing modernisation of the fleet.

• Scheduled tram service begins between Altstätten and Berneck as the Altstätten–Berneck-Bahn.

• Expansion into the Wil region under the WilMobil brand.

• Expansion into the Sarganserland–Werdenberg region as BUS Sarganserland Werdenberg.

• RTB Rheintal Bus, WilMobil and BUS Sarganserland Werdenberg are merged into BUS Ostschweiz AG (BOS); brands continue independently under the umbrella.

• BUS Ostschweiz AG takes over the operational management of Autokurse Oberthurgau AG.

• BOS begins operating the bus network in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

• RTB Rheintal Bus celebrates its 125th anniversary.

Locally rooted regional public-transport brand within the BUS Ostschweiz AG (BOS) group, focused on reliable scheduled bus services and integrated Swiss public-transport ticketing.

• Regional scheduled bus services

• Commuter and school transport

• E-ticketing and automatic ticketing

• Bodensee-Ticket

• Friends day pass for travellers under 25

• SBB Mobile and EasyRide integration

1. 1BUS Ostschweiz AG – official websitebusost.ch
2. 2Geschichte – BUS Ostschweiz AGbusost.ch
3. 3RTB Rheintal Bus – Wikidatawikidata.org