Mail decrease on Tuesdays part of Postal Service changes
By LEISEL KOBER
If anyone has noticed there’s less mail on Tuesdays, there’s a reason.
A change in delivery schedules has just one truck on Mondays, bringing mail from Pittsburgh to Erie to Oil City.
Tad Kelley, the regional public relations representative at the Postal Service, said the change is part of the national changes made in January, where 1.8-day delivery went to 2.1-day delivery.
The change affects first class mail, reducing postal volume by 9 percent as the postal service shrinks because of the Internet.
“It’s something we had to do,” Kelley said. “We haven’t had any other problems and this is the first town I’ve heard.”
For at least a few months, the one truck delivering from Pittsburgh to Erie and to Oil City has to wait until closing on Monday in Pittsburgh to get all the mail from various locations. Oil City’s postmaster said it has to wait and it’s not arriving in Oil City until Tuesday morning after the delivery deadline.
“We believe it will strengthen USPS,” Kelley said. “This is one way to increase efficiency.”
Kelley said the postal service has lost a vast amount of revenue and will continue to do so because of the digital age. But packaging growth continues to increase upwards of 10 to 14 percent, he said.
According to the March 2015 quarterly report, shipping and packaging is increasing but only represents 22 percent of 2015 revenues. It continues to be the main focus of the postal service.
First-class mail is declining but represents 41 percent of 2015 revenues according to the quarterly report. USPS said as a result they must earn $3 in shipping and packaging to replace the profit loss in first-class mail.
“Despite the decline in volume, revenue increased during 2015, primarily due to the price increases that were implemented in January 2014,” USPS said in the March 2015 quarterly report.
The postal service has lost $1.5 billion in the last three months and $2.2 billion in the last six months according to their last quarterly report in March 2015. They have incurred $53.9 billion in losses since 2007.
As result, the postal service is cutting service and is unable to keep its delivery standards for consumers.
The agency is not planning on adjusting the changes made in January. People expecting their mail will just have to adjust, Kelley said.
“We have priority mail that you can get stuff overnight.”
Republished with permission from The Derrick.
First Published Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Leisel Kober 