In these challenging times, reducing the cost of delivery operations — one of the Postal Service’s largest expenses — could save millions. One option the Postal Service is considering is to discontinue Saturday city and rural delivery and collection services.
Saturday is said to be one of the lowest mail volume days. It’s also a day when many businesses are closed. The September/October 2009 digital issue of Mailing Systems Technology included a survey of managers working in the mailing industry. Of those surveyed, 98 percent said changing to 5-day delivery would not require a change in staffing. The survey results also indicated that most managers surveyed (81 percent) preferred Saturday as the day of the week that the Postal Service would stop delivering mail. An additional 62 percent of the managers surveyed felt that once implemented, there should be no exceptions to 5-day deliveries such as for holiday weeks or high-volume mailing periods.
Loading ... Loading ... Loading ...Gallup also conducted polls on ways to help the Postal Service solve its financial problems. They found that 66 percent of Americans supported reducing mail delivery days from 6 to 5 days, and 66 percent also supported reducing the number of days the Post Office is open from 6 to 5 days.
The Postal Service is currently studying the reduction of mail delivery from 6 days to 5 days. Should the Postal Service consider eliminating delivery, collections, retail, and remittance services only for delivery units with low mail volume? Should the Postal Service eliminate these services for all delivery units nationwide?
This blog is hosted by the OIG’s Delivery directorate.
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Wow! The very core of USPS is to DELIVER! It is my humble opinion that the USPS should rid itself of all employees that are nonessential to core of the USPS….delivery of the mail and services that support this function. Instead, the USPS would consider sacrificing the very reason it’s in existence by considering 5 day delivery. Just doesn’t seem like good business from the stand point of someone “on the front line” delivering mail for the USPS such as a Rural Carrier like myself. Should I purchase a van or perhaps a huge SUV, because that’s exactly what it will take to deliver 6 days volume of mail in 5 days. The USPS desperately needs some full disclosure and a huge dose of common sense.
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Isn’t ironic how some parts of the postal services is closing down, eventually completely evaporating from our world. One might wonder, why has this postal crisis arisen? With high competitive environments, everyone has to be on their guard. There is no stretch of fault or error. This is an example to all of us, of such a huge system crippling down to ashes slowly.
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The question of can we handle a 5 day delivery schedule keeps coming up year after year. The obvious day to cut is Saturday. Businesses complain that they need Saturday delivery for marketing materials and such. I can see that. Why not cut a random day throughout the week, like a Wednesday. Thats my vote. Except at the holiday season. Just to handle volume I’m sure they would have to do a full 6 day schedule.
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I support having USPS only operate 5 days a week. Saturday and Sunday off would make sense as they are consecutive. Keep the parcel costs significantly lower than UPS & FedEx, and cut down the fracking junk mail!
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