Postal Service To Cut Saturday Mail

Looks like I'm going to be one of those not getting mail on Saturdays starting in August. Something had to be done to try and save them money I guess I can live with it.....

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Under the new plan, mail would be delivered to homes and businesses only from Monday through Friday, but would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays. Post offices now open on Saturdays would remain open on Saturdays.

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http://news.yahoo.com/postal-cut-saturday-mail-trim-costs-121746412.html;_ylt=A2KJ3Cd6VxJRwmwAmErQtDMD

They still plan to deliver packages- hence-- the trucks are still running the routes. :umm:

The U.S. Postal Service plans to stop delivering letters and other first-class mail on Saturdays beginning Aug. 1, although packages will continue to be delivered

It might have something to do with their contract with Fedex for their SmartPost option and making sure retailers continue to use them for delivering on-line purchases. :dunno: They could still cover a wider area with fewer trucks and personnel than would be required to deliver all mail to everyone on Saturdays. Just a guess on my part, though.

As I've expressed several times before, this drives me nuts. There is no reason for them to lose money like this and have to cut these services. First there are the shenanigans that congress is pulling where the PO has to deposit enormous excessive amounts of money for the reserve pension funds. The reason for this is probably so congress can "borrow" the money like they do with SS funds.

Also, congress should allow the PO to raise the prices enough so they can cover their losses (more than the .01 recent raise). I don't know if everyone realizes what a great deal the post office already is. If you think UPS or FedEx will deliver mail for $0.47, you are way off. Also, the post office goes anywhere in the US with an address (like in the frozen tundra of middle Wisconsin) for the same amount of money as delivering someplace with a big population. Fed Ex and UPS charge at least twice as much as their normal rates to go some of those places if they will even go at all.

I say let the Post Office raise their prices to cover their expenses and function like they always have.

On the bright side, I would think you'd get a one-day extension on the due date for bills you pay by mail.

The article mentioned that their package deliveries were actually up........

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The move accentuates one of the agency's strong points — package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010, officials say, while the delivery of letters and other mail has declined with the increasing use of email and other Internet services.

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I guess they figure they can make more money this way.........but what do I know..........? LOL

I wonder if Netflix is going to give me a discount now that there's one less day I can receive their DVDs? :glare:

I think they should cut out Tuesday and Thursday deliveries as well and just go with a M-W-F schedule. Or work out a way that some zip codes (or regions, or however it gets divided) get M-W-F and others get T-T-S so mailmen can still have full time jobs, but less mailmen will be needed. They would just have two routes, and deliver to one one day and the other the next day.

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Originally Posted by fljoe0

As I've expressed several times before, this drives me nuts. There is no reason for them to lose money like this and have to cut these services. First there are the shenanigans that congress is pulling where the PO has to deposit enormous excessive amounts of money for the reserve pension funds. The reason for this is probably so congress can "borrow" the money like they do with SS funds.

Also, congress should allow the PO to raise the prices enough so they can cover their losses (more than the .01 recent raise). I don't know if everyone realizes what a great deal the post office already is. If you think UPS or FedEx will deliver mail for $0.47, you are way off. Also, the post office goes anywhere in the US with an address (like in the frozen tundra of middle Wisconsin) for the same amount of money as delivering someplace with a big population. Fed Ex and UPS charge at least twice as much as their normal rates to go some of those places if they will even go at all.

I say let the Post Office raise their prices to cover their expenses and function like they always have.

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Agreed. Why handicap them and then gripe when services have to be cut? As little as I mail, personally, I'd be fine with a buck a stamp. It would feel shocking, but it would cost me approximately ... oh, 25 cents more a month. :biggrin2: There's a difference between government controlling costs by building in efficiencies and government controlling costs artificially.

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Originally Posted by Todash

I'd be fine with a buck a stamp.

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Think of the senior citizens!!

Grandma: "I remember when stamps were just a nickel...........We got our mail delivered on Saturdays too........"

Little Jimmy: "Jeepers Grandma........do you have any other tall tales I can put on Facebook?"