US Postal Service - Why Not Every Other Day Delivery?

1

The mail service in a lot of places is unreliable due to staffing shortages. I signed up for informed delivery so I receive an email of what is expected to be delivered each day. Some days it’s delivered and some days I get two days worth of mail. There are days when nothing is expected. Days where one junk flyer is delivered, etc. The volume for our house is very low and I expect most people are similar.

So why doesn’t the postal service switch to every other day delivery? I know medications are important for people who get them delivered by mail, but getting it in another day shouldn’t matter. It’s not reliable anyway so no one should be cutting their medication delivery that close.

Seems like the post office could save a ton of money and reduce the need for staff.

2

Your logic is pretty sound and I am certain most people would agree. However, the Postal Service is a quasi-Federal Government service and we know they aren’t really adept at cutting costs or improving efficiency.

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3

The Post Office is pretty much at the direction of Congress. Congress is the same people who refuse to take my suggestion to solve the Dayligh Savings Time dilema.

My answer? Turn the clocks by a half hour and leave them there. End of discussion and it solves the "too early/too late’ issue with a compromise.

Personally, I get my mail without the aded delay. I have this thing they call a Post Office Box. Our area is quite rural and delivery logistics can increase times.

Here all mail comes by plane from another island. If I mail a letter to someone on my own island it still goes off island and comes back. It sounds inefficient but actually is the FedEx idea to do all sorting and decisions at a central point.

When my mail hits my island it comes south to a Distribution Post Office. There it eaither goes to a carrier to drive to my house or it goes by truck to my Post Office and into my PO Box. If for some reason the truck can’t deliver it, it goes back up t othat distribution PO and then by truck to me. So in the off chand that there is an issue, just forcing it to my PO box can save an extra day.

My USPS packages come the same way. Nobody can steal them from my porch even if I had a porch.

So if people want the ‘convenience’ of home delivery, thern they have the inconvenience of relying upon the postal service having extra carriers, small delivery trucks, blue mailboxes at convenient locations and the associated costs.

So outbound mail I drop at the PO and the same with packages. Stand in line for postage? NO! I buy stamps at Costco (no waiting) and packages go out with postage I print from USPS.Com.

The Post Office employee behind thwe counter is Scott. I know him. He knows me. Sometimes he comes to our pot luck at the beach. I don’t ask him for favors but do ask the most efficient way to do things. Do each of you here in the forum know your delivery driver? If you do, there is a better chan\ce the correct package gets to your house and not a neighbors.

Granted our post office is a bet smnaller than yours. When I was moving here I had about 35 large boxes being shipped. I spoke with the Postmaster and the clercks for how to do that. I could walk into the post office and the clerk would tell me I had 3 boxes without even asking.

I have seen post office trucks delivering residential mail at 7pm here. So yes, if we needed to do every othe rday, I would say the residents here would not complain too much.

4

How far to your PO Box?
How often do you go?

I get in the area of my PO about twice a week.

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It is 5.6 miles (11 min by vehicle).

I stop there every couple of days, usually on my way to town (which is 21 miles and 42 minute drive).

There is a closer PO but they are closed at noon (the postmaster has to get items together for distribution to southern offices. They are also closed on Saturday, so I chose the PO towards town.

Because my PO box is listed as a Business, I am unable to take advantage of the Informed Delivery option from the PO. That option gives you scans of mail and notice of packages so you know if you have stuff waiting.

Because we are rural, people may leave a box of freshly picked fruit out on the counter for whomever wants it. I sometimes leave extra tangerines or some of the exotic fruit I pick.

6

I live in a condo and my mailbox is 30’ from my door. I don’t even walk that distance every day to retrieve mail. If i see (Informed Delivery) my meds are there, then I’ll definitely go out that day to keep them from cooking in the mailbox. Every other day or even twice a week would be fine with me.

7

I’ve thought for years that they should drop Saturday delivery. That would give the carriers a normal weekend off. I would not miss Sat mail, I just figure anything I would have gotten Sat, I’ll now get Monday.

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Funny - I once was talking with a person who had retired from the Post Office - what you wrote was pretty much what he mentioned - " they aren’t really adept at cutting costs or improving efficiency."

9

We’d have no problem with every other day mail deliver. That’s about as frequently as we go to the mailbox anyway. We use Informed Delivery, so we know what’s on the way. I can’t remember the last time I had an urgent piece of mail that I couldn’t wait another day for.

10

I agree that mail service every other day could make sense. USPS could make delivery of this type to residences only. Probably the best way to do this would be to designate certain areas for MON, WED, FRI delivery and others TUE, THU, SAT delivery. Doing an ODD/EVEN address system would not save much. The mail carriers would still have to drive the entire route. Commercial businesses would most likely need daily service.

I am an old timer. I remember when everyone had a mailbox at their front door or a mail slot in the front door. The mail carrier would walk the route carrying a bag of mail and bring the mail to the front door. Mail would be delivered twice a day. During holiday periods, mail would be delivered on Sunday. Does anyone else remember those times?

11

With the terrible mail service that we have now…I wouldn’t notice any difference in every other day service because that’s what we are getting anyway…

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12

I want real mail daily. Junk mail …pretty much never. Raise the rates for advertising significantly, and provide the opportunity for residents to opt out of mass marketed mail.

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