USPS to end Saturday mail

[Deberg_1990]

RIP....



http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...to-trim-costs/




The U.S. Postal Service plans to announce Wednesday that it will end Saturday mail delivery, in one of the most significant steps taken to date to cut costs at the struggling agency.

A source familiar with the decision confirmed the plan to Fox News.

Under the proposal, the Postal Service will continue to deliver packages six days a week. The plan, which is aimed at saving about $2 billion, would start to take effect in August.

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 use.

Under the new plan, mail would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays. Post offices now open on Saturdays would remain open on Saturdays.

Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages -- and it repeatedly but unsuccessfully appealed to Congress to approve the move. Though an independent agency, the service gets no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control.

It was not immediately clear how the service could eliminate Saturday mail without congressional approval.

But the agency clearly thinks it has a majority of the American public on its side regarding the change.

Material prepared for the Wednesday press conference by Patrick R. Donahoe, postmaster general and CEO, says Postal Service market research and other research has indicated that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs

[Taco John]

I have a hard time mustering up any amount of care for what the USPS does and what days it does it on. Personally, I wish I got mail maybe once a week. Would make the whole experience of going to the mailbox seem like less of a chore. But whatever...

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Taco John

I have a hard time mustering up any amount of care for what the USPS does and what days it does it on. Personally, I wish I got mail maybe once a week. Would make the whole experience of going to the mailbox seem like less of a chore. But whatever...

I'm with you!

[Iowanian]

But but but.....what if my welfare checks come on the first and the first is saturday!!!


They should have done this a long time ago.

[Buehler445]

I think I'm on board for the privatization thing. Most of my stuff comes online anymore, and the stuff that doesn't, I'd like to. The formal and legal stuff comes through Fed Ex half the time anyway. I'd just be short admail. And while I don't wish any ill will on NZoner, I can do without that.

[JohninGpt]

They should shut down completely on Saturdays. Just leave a post office door unlocked with a stamp machine and a drop box.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by notorious

Why did they start delivering on Saturday in the first place?

Ask an old-timer--They used to make multiple deliveries on weekdays. Morning mail and afternoon mail.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by Dayze

just ditch the system and privatize?

no idea if that would be good or bad.

Private companies won't deliver shit out to Bum****, Montana. At least not for 50 cents.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

FEDEX and UPS seem to be doing ok.

They can pick and choose what they deliver and where. USPS is mandated to deliver basically everything, everywhere.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Both use the USPS for their unprofitable rural deliveries.

The USPS was designed to subsidize the rural routes with money from urban delivery. Whether you approve of that or not, if you privatize the USPS, people in rural areas are going to get hosed.

That's generally red states/red areas. They hate the gubment anyway, so I'm sure they won't mind.

[cosmo20002]

One more--
With e-mail, USPS obviously needs to change some things, but what REALLY screwed them was George W and Congress when they required that USPS fund its entire pension requirements for the next 75 years. No govt or private entity has ever had a requirement like that.

Until then, USPS paid for itself. But with the pension requirements, it had to start begging for tax money because it couldn't meet the mandate and run operations.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

One more--
With e-mail, USPS obviously needs to change some things, but what REALLY screwed them was George W and Congress when they required that USPS fund its entire pension requirements for the next 75 years. No govt or private entity has ever had a requirement like that.

Until then, USPS paid for itself. But with the pension requirements, it had to start begging for tax money because it couldn't meet the mandate and run operations.

Obama and the democrats had complete control in Washington for 2 years (including a significant period with a filibuster-proof majority). Why didn't they fix this Bush-created problem?

[HonestChieffan]

Good move. And they should charge more as well.

[TrueFanDave]

Originally Posted by King_Chief_Fan

what's killing the USPS is their inability to change their business model and re-design their organziation accordingly.

Most of the post offices I've been in have way too many people in the back doing nothing.

[KILLER_CLOWN]

I think USPS does a better job than any other package delivery service, fwiw.

[CoMoChief]

There are more people retired and on pensions w/ the USPS than there are actual active workers