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Post Office to Drop Saturday Service Starting in August
UPS and Fedex probably see some benefit. I just think the postal service as we know it does not exist in 5-10 years, and UPS/Fedex/? split the business between themselves. In ways unfortunate, but it's the way things are going.
Canada's had no mail on Sat. for ages. When I lived out in B.C., I'd go to the mailbox out of habit, and find it empty, and remember: no Saturday mail. I guess it won't kill us. And the government wants it both ways with the USPS. Private? Public? Gov't agency? Or no? I've been reading about how the budget numbers for USPS are skewed because of the manner in which retirement funds for its workers must be dealt with, which, according to the articles and reports, is different from the norm.....
The USPS history of deliveries per day. I knew that until recently (late 90s) Manhattan got two deliveries per day; I did not know that several cities used to get as many as seven!
This is a decades long decline - that peak was in 1922, and it's been downhill since.
No big deal in this house. Most of the mail I get is junk and goes immediately into the trash unopened. There's very little I can't do online. And really, if Saturday mail delivery is the highlight of someone's weekend, they need to get a life.
We tend to get quite a few important things on Saturdsys. Probably having a rural route address contributes to later mail. But - nothing we can't wait couple more days for.
Here's a new one: Last week we mailed some documents to a business 25 miles away using PRIORITY MAIL so we could have a confirmation of delivery. When the status at their website continued to read "Out for delivery" after 3 days, we contacted the local P.O. They couldn't locate parcel, but told us to simply phone the business and ask them if they received the item yet. Duh? Couldn't help remarking to the fella that having to call to see if they got the parcel sorta defeated the purpose of delivery confirmation.
As some have noted in the past, be careful about faulting the employees. They're working with their hands tied due to financial constraints imposed by our government (And I'll try not to get too political here.) and their hard earned pension is put at risk (by the same folk that bailed out the banks). Look around at our roads & infrastructure. Some third world nations have better Internet than parts of the U.S. - And the underfunding for public education - both K-12 and at the college level - is a crime against our children. Who was it said: "Read my lips. No new taxes"? *##!*##
Reply to @MaxBialystock: Hi Max - I got a bad habit of adding to original posts. I take your support to be in regard to the way the PO functions (or fails to function:-) and not necessarily to the rant I tacked on later. Take care. Always enjoy your posts.
Lol. 2030? 2040? I'm guessing cross-country high speed rail will happen by 2199. Meanwhile, many other countries have constructed massive high speed rail systems that are a reality now, not in 20-30 years.
That doesn't even get into an aging grid, aging roads and other crumbling infrastructure.
For me - I work during regular post office hours. If I have to pick up a package on hold, or mail something that exceeds the 13 ounce limit, that means I'll have to take off during work (not practical due to the distance between my workplace and the post office), or come in late/leave early.
I agree that the post office needs some reforms. I'm curious as to how much money this will save, though. For example - I believe UPS, and perhaps FedEx, already offer Saturday service (at an extra cost) and if USPS loses business, it may end up being a wash.
I've heard junk mail helps USPS stay afloat but I wonder if they take into account how much longer it takes for delivery because our mailboxes are stuffed with junk. During any given week it's not uncommon for me just to get junk, I'm sure that is true for others as well. Not delivering junk mail would mean you'd need fewer employees (and less overhead - health care, pensions, etc.) I doubt the money provided from coupon flyers pays for all of that.
Reply to @Whakamole: Good point re accessibility of post office during working hours- but you might want to check- perhaps the offices will be open - just no delivery service?
Add: I found this article on Reuters for you- they say packages will still be delivered and POs will still be open: Reuters Article
From what I heard they will only halt mail delivery. They will still continue profitable package delivery on saturdays.
So, unless UPS, Fedex get into the business of low cost mail delivery, the kind that USPS is trying to restrict on Saturdays there will be no improvement for them.
Ironically, USPS is fighting with one arm tied to back (or maybe even two arms tied on the back).
They have become a punching bag by politicians.
They are required to keep the unprofitable post offices open by the very same politicians that criticize them.
They cannot increase the postage stamp cost at will to respond to changing cost and volume structure.
They are required to fund the pension at much higher rate than any other organization and for 75 years into the future! This above normal funding is depriving the organization and causing it to post budget deficits.
In other words, the problem is not the USPS but the congress.
Post office is unique institution in US that it is explicitly authorized by article 1 of the US constitution. So, some people might be inclined to get rid of it but in this case constitutional mandate is keeping it in the limbo of part private, part government, part independent, part supervised institution. Perhaps we need a constitution amendment and when it is set free it will find a way to return to profitably and it will operate like UPS, Fedex. But the services and costs could be different and not all will be positive for citizens.
I agree with most that has been said and Investor summed it up nicely. Congress has set them up to fail in order to boost UPS, FEDEX, and all the other parcel services. That said, they're woefully behind the curve technologically AND this is exacerbated by the ungodly strong union they've had over the years. Gees, folks, this is fed civil service and perhaps the most 'real' union that ever existed in fed gov't. This really doesn't hurt on pay and benefits but is a backbreaker on work rules.
Saturday home delivery is all that's being eliminated now and we'll all survive. How many of you pay bills online? How many correspond electronically instead of by snailmail? They really do need to downsize and specialize in exactly what they're planning - package and parcel delivery. Makes sense to me.
Seriously, we hardly use telegraph these days but it's still there and most often used to 'wire' money.
Reply to @Investor: "So, unless UPS, Fedex get into the business of low cost mail delivery,"
Maybe I'm wrong, but aren't they sort of into that already with things like Fedex Smartpost? (UPS also has a similar service) These services effectively get it to near the endpoint and then the postal service delivers it. I've seen Amazon and other companies ship via these methods more and more often.
Reply to @scott: Yes, I was referring to the last leg delivery.
Post Office do not have problem with long distance shipping. In fact, post office outsource some of this long distance shipping routes to UPS/Fedex etc.
USPS needs to fire 60% of those who do not touch a letter!!! Then since junk mail is 65% of all mail delivered it needs to cary a premium rate rather than a discount rate. Then I would need to find an alternate fuel source for my junk mail stove.
Comments
This is a decades long decline - that peak was in 1922, and it's been downhill since.
Here's a new one: Last week we mailed some documents to a business 25 miles away using PRIORITY MAIL so we could have a confirmation of delivery. When the status at their website continued to read "Out for delivery" after 3 days, we contacted the local P.O. They couldn't locate parcel, but told us to simply phone the business and ask them if they received the item yet. Duh? Couldn't help remarking to the fella that having to call to see if they got the parcel sorta defeated the purpose of delivery confirmation.
As some have noted in the past, be careful about faulting the employees. They're working with their hands tied due to financial constraints imposed by our government (And I'll try not to get too political here.) and their hard earned pension is put at risk (by the same folk that bailed out the banks). Look around at our roads & infrastructure. Some third world nations have better Internet than parts of the U.S. - And the underfunding for public education - both K-12 and at the college level - is a crime against our children. Who was it said: "Read my lips. No new taxes"? *##!*##
I joked about this the other week. "In a report released Monday, Amtrak revised its projections for costs, ridership, and the alignment of its proposed new 438-mile high-speed corridor. The high-speed segment between New York and Washington would be completed by about 2030, and the route between New York and Boston by 2040, according to the plan." (http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-10/news/32602302_1_amtrak-president-joseph-boardman-acela-express-northeast-corridor)
Lol. 2030? 2040? I'm guessing cross-country high speed rail will happen by 2199. Meanwhile, many other countries have constructed massive high speed rail systems that are a reality now, not in 20-30 years.
That doesn't even get into an aging grid, aging roads and other crumbling infrastructure.
I agree that the post office needs some reforms. I'm curious as to how much money this will save, though. For example - I believe UPS, and perhaps FedEx, already offer Saturday service (at an extra cost) and if USPS loses business, it may end up being a wash.
I've heard junk mail helps USPS stay afloat but I wonder if they take into account how much longer it takes for delivery because our mailboxes are stuffed with junk. During any given week it's not uncommon for me just to get junk, I'm sure that is true for others as well. Not delivering junk mail would mean you'd need fewer employees (and less overhead - health care, pensions, etc.) I doubt the money provided from coupon flyers pays for all of that.
Regards
You-know-who
Add: I found this article on Reuters for you- they say packages will still be delivered and POs will still be open:
Reuters Article
So, unless UPS, Fedex get into the business of low cost mail delivery, the kind that USPS is trying to restrict on Saturdays there will be no improvement for them.
Ironically, USPS is fighting with one arm tied to back (or maybe even two arms tied on the back).
They have become a punching bag by politicians.
They are required to keep the unprofitable post offices open by the very same politicians that criticize them.
They cannot increase the postage stamp cost at will to respond to changing cost and volume structure.
They are required to fund the pension at much higher rate than any other organization and for 75 years into the future! This above normal funding is depriving the organization and causing it to post budget deficits.
In other words, the problem is not the USPS but the congress.
Post office is unique institution in US that it is explicitly authorized by article 1 of the US constitution. So, some people might be inclined to get rid of it but in this case constitutional mandate is keeping it in the limbo of part private, part government, part independent, part supervised institution. Perhaps we need a constitution amendment and when it is set free it will find a way to return to profitably and it will operate like UPS, Fedex. But the services and costs could be different and not all will be positive for citizens.
I agree with most that has been said and Investor summed it up nicely. Congress has set them up to fail in order to boost UPS, FEDEX, and all the other parcel services. That said, they're woefully behind the curve technologically AND this is exacerbated by the ungodly strong union they've had over the years. Gees, folks, this is fed civil service and perhaps the most 'real' union that ever existed in fed gov't. This really doesn't hurt on pay and benefits but is a backbreaker on work rules.
Saturday home delivery is all that's being eliminated now and we'll all survive. How many of you pay bills online? How many correspond electronically instead of by snailmail? They really do need to downsize and specialize in exactly what they're planning - package and parcel delivery. Makes sense to me.
Seriously, we hardly use telegraph these days but it's still there and most often used to 'wire' money.
and so it goes,
peace,
rono
Maybe I'm wrong, but aren't they sort of into that already with things like Fedex Smartpost? (UPS also has a similar service) These services effectively get it to near the endpoint and then the postal service delivers it. I've seen Amazon and other companies ship via these methods more and more often.
http://www.fedex.com/us/smart-post/index.html
Post Office do not have problem with long distance shipping. In fact, post office outsource some of this long distance shipping routes to UPS/Fedex etc.
Just my 2 cents.
Gary
Every one wants the services but not in their back yards.
Lawyers have a feast!!!
Gary
i like.