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Saturday Mail Delivery: NE Readers And Postal Commission Offer Opinions
March 30, 2011
The Postal Regulatory Commission has issued an opinion on the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, collection, and outbound mail processing — a plan the commission says will especially impact rural areas like North Escambia.
We asked NorthEscambia.com Facebook fans to weigh-in on the proposed end of Saturday mail delivery, and if it would adversely impact rural residents. Here’s a sample of the responses:
- “It would make things a lot harder on the people in rural areas. My mother is a mail carrier, and if we ended Saturday mail, that would mean they would have to deliver it on Mondays. Giving them two days of mail to deliver on one day would not only mean extra work for them, but mail would come later that day for everyone because there would be so much for them to deliver,” said Sarah McLean.
- “The post office is operating in the red so if this helps them, by all means, stop Saturday delivery. The federal government has not been good to the post office,” said Leza Nelson of Brewton.
- “But what about my Netflix movies received on a Saturday? Gotta have them,” said Brenda Flota of Pensacola.
- “Keep the Saturdays’ I have a new found love of Ebay,” said Dana Kittrell of Cantonment.
- “I say stop Saturday delivery but keep the post office open for a few hours. Will save gas and hours,” said Crystal McDonald of Atmore.
- “Some stuff doesn’t mail out until a ‘business day’, so I don’t think it makes a difference,” said Nicole Davis of Century.
(To join our Facebook page, click here and be part of future discussions.)
The Postal Regulatory Commission Opinion
The Postal Service is required to ask the Commission for an Advisory Opinion on any change in nationwide service it proposes. The Postal Service advised the Commission that due to falling mail volumes and revenues it is considering eliminating Saturday mail collection and delivery except for Express Mail and existing post office box service.
“Some of the Commission’s analysis in today’s Advisory Opinion suggests that even lower estimates of savings and higher volume losses are possible. In all cases, we chose the cautious, conservative path. Our estimates, therefore, should be seen as the most likely, middle ground analysis of what could happen under a five-day scenario,” said Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway.
Key findings of the Commission’s Opinion include:
- The Commission’s annual net savings estimate is $1.7 billion.
- The Postal Service’s savings estimate is $3.1 billion.
- Full savings in either case would likely not be achieved until year three after implementation.
- The Commission’s estimate of net revenue losses due to volume declines caused by the service cuts is $0.6 billion.
- The Postal Service estimate of net revenue losses is $0.2 billion.
- The planned changes would cause an average of 25 percent of First-Class and Priority mail to be delayed by two days.
- The Postal Service did not evaluate the impact of the proposal on customers who reside or conduct business in rural, remote, and non-contiguous areas.
- Customers in rural, remote, and non-contiguous areas can be particularly affected by the Postal Service’s plans. The Commission received significant input from rural America and traveled to South Dakota and Wyoming to meet directly with rural customers and community leaders.
The elimination of one mail delivery day has been proposed many times and was the subject of extensive congressional review in 1977 and 1980. In 1983, Congress adopted specific language requiring the Postal Service to maintain six-day delivery. The Commission’s Advisory Opinion will be considered by Congress as it reviews the Postal Service’s request to change the law.
Comments
14 Responses to “Saturday Mail Delivery: NE Readers And Postal Commission Offer Opinions”
So maybe if the Post Office ran as a business does, it would cut some of the useless upper management jobs and save itself some money. If they want to cut Saturday delivery, so be it. I will use UPS, FedX, email and stop wasting money on stamps! I have lost packages by using the mail service so I use UPS or FEDX now anyway. Sometimes my mail that goes out never arrives…no idea what has happened to it and when asked, no one seems to know either. Hmmmm.
where do you people get your info you are surely misled the post office gets 0 tax dollars 0.the reason the p.o. is broke is ,that we have to prey pay all future healthcare ins. payments and retirement benefits .No other company in the us is required to do this. As for sat delivery they sort the mail at the plants 7 days a week so we will have 3 days of mail stacked up for monday. They are not talking about shutting down the mail just not gona deliver. The P.O. is top heavy we need to cut upper management and waiste not service,and I agree some of the unions make it tuff butt with out them management would run rough shod of the workers and end up hireing their brother inlaws wifes and cousins . Everybody should deliver the mail at the first of the month or after a holiday atleast once then tell me how you like the mail man
REGARDING:
“The only money it gets from congress is cover for all the government postage and the amount for civil service retirement that was mandated when congress created the US postal Service.”
Still, money’s money. The postal service has done a fine job in the past but it well could be that its days are numbered. Expenses add up. Usage drops. We can decide every expense is reasonable and every loss is unavoidable, but they add up.
It used to be a two cent post card could be delivered anywhere so a person could be heard anywhere for that, hence the “my two cent’s worth”. Now, if you have internet access, you can be heard for free. Inflation doesn’t even get in the picture.
David considering purpose of Postal Service
As a former Postmaster and US Postal Service emploee I wish to point out that Postal Service is not on the budget of the United States. The only money it gets from congress is cover for all the goverment postage and the amount for civil service retirement that was mandated when congress created the US postal Service. It is run by a board of goveners(9) who apoint the Postmaster General. it is mandated to break even and has a bottom line like any other business.
They have discussed many times about not having saturday delivery. saturday and tueday are low volumes days. a lot of post offices in rural areas close their windows on thursday aftertnoons. most of the letter mail is now sort to route order thus saving money we use to have to spend to sort mail by hand. 80% of the budget is for personel.
REGARDING:
“Why does everyone assume that all federal spending is a waste; Bureaucratic worm as someone put it. “
Who told you everyone does assume that?
Nonetheless, you DID point out a few expenses which might be reduced.
Our military is larger than needed simply to protect this nation and our vital interests. In fact because it is so strong, politicians keep finding jobs for them to do which are NOT in our vital interest and are sometimes counterproductive and get our people killed. Let’s retire from conflict before cutting supplies to fighters in harm’s way first, though.
You propose ending subsidizing of farmers, one example of which is food stamps as part of the Department of Agriculture budget. We might want to keep some form of it, at least enough to avoid starvation but we might consider limiting foods available. Taxpayers are less sympathetic when they see recipients eating better than they are.
As to “why don’t we stop the Congress from getting lifelong health insurance and retirement benefits after serving only 2 years; they receive better benefits than the people that elected them”, that’s simple: Congress voted for those benefits and only Congress can eliminate them.
Actually, though, Congress is cheap to feed, it’s what they spend money on which is hard to keep up with. And there’s no way in sight to take away their credit card. Give them each a million dollars per year each year they balance the budget without raising taxes and it would be money well spent.
Keep proposing cuts, though, the battle isn’t lost until the fighting stops.
David for reason
Why does everyone assume that all federal spending is a waste; Bureaucratic worm as someone put it. If this is true let’s just cut out that military defense budget which is waste on the highest level. Companies such as Boeing, Lockheed & GE have shown to be the biggest waste of tax $$ and why don’t we stop subsidizing farmers; that should put a big dent in the budget. Or do those cuts come to close to home. Or better yet why don’t we stop the Congress from getting lifelong health insurance and retirement benefits after serving only 2 years; they receive better benefits than the people that elected them.
regarding wizcorgi
you cant cash or deposit your check until monday anyway so whats the big deal??
its always about me me me no matter what the issue
REGARDING:
“I- – - receive my disability check in the mail on Mondays. That means I would be forced to wait another 2 days in the delay of my check and I can’t afford that.”
Not that they couldn’t direct deposit, although I assume they could and would prefer to do so since it would save them money on postage, but what would not delivering on Saturday have to do with delivery on Monday?
David just wondering
It sure would make my life a living hell. I live in the rural area and receive my disability check in the mail on Mondays. That means I would be forced to wait another 2 days in the delay of my check and I can’t afford that.
As our mail delivery system makes itself less and less useful, people are forced to turn to alternatives, thereby making the USPS less important, forcing even more people to turn to alternatives, thereby making the USPS even less needed, forcing even more people to turn to alternatives, thereby making the USPS less and less relevant, (do we see a pattern yet?) forcing even more people to turn to alternatives, thereby making the USPS less and less relevant, forcing even more people to turn to alternatives, thereby making the USPS less and less relevant, forcing even more people to turn to alternatives until the day comes when kids in history class wonder what it was and the teacher isn’t absolutely certain any more either.
There are so many more efficient ways to deliver information that there may be no saving it.
David considering the fate of the dodo bird
Well said Patriotson, I think that saturday delivery should go away. Most of the people now use the internet for bill payment because it is more secure and you can see the payment. As for people receving medicine through the mail I quit this long ago because the mail service either loses it or it is damaged. It’s time the postal service to be downed sized to stay within there operating budget and get of the tax payers back.
A darn good post, Patriotson. Well said.
Reduced service should equate to reduced postal rates… say .36 instead of .44 for a first class stamp.
Postal Service is hell bent on doing what it was formed to do and that is to provide services by delivering mail. Now, when you eliminate one day, say Saturday and Monday happens to be a holiday the mail is going to be delayed up to three to four days for those who live in the rural areas. This is especially hard on people who are dependent on medicine and legal notices that require people to sign for certified letters. Closing post offices will require people to travel further distances to get mail, thus adding to the costs of energy and making it a hardship on the customer.
The USPS is a bureaucratic worm that cannot; will not; is not going to respond to any proposals for making it more efficient. In my area, we have tried, only to be snubbed and found to hit a wall of bureaucratic inaction. Everyone has a position but no one has authority. Let the American people who are the receipiants make the suggestions for improving the mail. A top down bureaucratic union organization cannot possibly see the trees for the forest. There are simply to many Chiefs and not enough indians at the ground level to know what should be done. The USPS is more interested in the public service employees and unions benefits than it is on efficiency.