Will the new postal service be in the Maiholzli Centre

The local council wants to proactively tackle the future of postal services in the village.

The Swiss are very attached to their post offices. But these are currently being closed all over the country and being replaced by so-called ‘branches with partners’, such as village shops that also offer postal services. A postal agency of this kind has existed in the Creabeck in Hünenberg See for some time now. Hünenberg Dorf still has its own ‘proper’ post office at Eichengasse 2. But for how long? The local council doesn’t want to wait until the Post suddenly decides to change the postal service there, but intends to proactively address the future of the postal service in Hünenberg.

And where would be the ideal location for a post office if not in the new ‘Maihölzli Centre’ that is currently being built? The local council believes that the superstructure offers a good opportunity to persuade the ‘Yellow Giant’ to come to a suitable solution. As the municipal council writes in its latest municipal magazine "Insight", the number of letters handed in at the counter in Hünenberg Dorf fell by 84% between 2010 and 2019, and the number of over-the-counter payments by 41%. In 2019 alone, the Post Office counted 7% fewer customer transactions in its Hünenberg branch compared to the previous year. And the current opening hours of the post office on the Eichengasse are not satisfactory, according to the municipal council.

Several companies are interested
According to the municipal magazine, several partners are interested in a cooperation with the Post Office in Hünenberg Dorf. Is it planned to place the new agency at the Migros, which will be opening a store in the Maihölzli superstructure? When asked, the Hünenberg mayor (Gemeindepräsidentin) Renate Huwyler did not want to reveal the names of the interested companies. She simply replied: "The ideal partner would offer a guarantee of long-term cooperation, have long opening hours and be easy to access."

The Hünenberg post office
Photo: Stefan Kaiser (January 5, 2021)

What is certain, however, is that the postal business on the Eichengasse will remain in place until the opening of the new centre. "The Post has no intention of giving up the post office in Hünenberg," says Renate Huwyler. "Many business customers also deliver mail at the business customer office in Hünenberg Bösch, which will also remain in place." With a new partner agency, the municipal council also sees the opportunity that today's postal premises could take on "new, attractive uses, such as sales transactions".

Info-event to take place in May
An information event for the local population was planned for January. Because of the corona pandemic, however, this has had to be cancelled. The municipal council now intends to hold the event at 7.30 pm on Monday, 10th May in the Saal Heinrich. Based on the reactions from the public, it then wants to decide whether or not the project of reorganising the postal service should be pursued.

There are no plans to change the number of postal services in the Hünenberg See area. According to the mayor, the post office with the Creabeck partner by the Zythus S-Bahn station will continue until further notice. Creabeck had no intention of terminating the contract now that the Post had increased its remuneration rates. In 2018, the municipal council supported the partner branch with CHF 12,000, because the Creabeck found it difficult to cope with the additional outlay and therefore no longer wanted to offer the postal services. A My-Post-24 machine should remedy this situation. Renate Huwyler explains that things are basically going well with this, "even if it did not bring much relief for the Creabeck." It is probably still too little known that packages can also be handed over at the vending machine.