Last week, the United States Postal Service announced it will stop delivering first-class mail on Saturday. The new plan will go into effect Aug. 5.
In 2012, the postal service reported a $16 billion loss.
The postal service is expects the change to save about $2 billion a year, the effect might not last long.
After Aug. 5, Saturday mail delivery will cease for street addresses. However, packages will still be delivered six days a week, delivery to P.O. boxes will remain the same and post offices will remain open on Saturday.
That’s the equivalent of more than 34 billion first-class stamps.
Because Congress took too long to respond, USPS had to resort to drastic measures. Instead of delivering and picking up mail six days a week, they will now only deliver 5 days a week.
If Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General, learned of the direction the postal service is heading, he’d be disappointed. With the help of the Continental Congress, Franklin established a postal system to serve the colonies in 1775. In those days, the postal service was the sole source of long distance communication. Now, letters and other forms of personal are becoming more scarce. However, the rate of shipping packages has increased.
Stopping first-class mail on Saturdays might be a good idea to save money, but it arrived too late.
USPS should have taken measures to save money earlier, so they wouldn’t have to restrict their service.
The postal service is a government entity. If the government were to allow the postal service to have more freedom, perhaps it wouldn’t have to resort to such desperate measures. The costumers are no longer a priority. Money is.
The new policy is an inconvenience for individuals. Waiting for items and mail to be shipped is already annoying, but now shipping time will take longer. Customers who want their mail shipped and delivered quickly will now take their business to other shipping companies.
The postal service has been delivering on Saturday since 1863. After all that time it will be difficult to adjust to a new schedule.
USPS’s responsibility is to deliver the mail. While the decision may prove cost effective, USPS is demonstrating weakness in the face of a changing era of communication and inconveniencing customers.
