On February 6, 2013, the USPS announced plans to move to a Monday–Friday delivery schedule. The announced changes are scheduled to be implemented during the week of August 5, 2013. The changes apply to letters and flat mail, but not packages. U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said “the choice is either change some of the service or raise prices, and people don’t want prices raised. We’ll make the changes in service”.
How will these changes affect you? It’s difficult to know yet. Mail processing facilities currently get backed up during long weekends, and now every weekend will be a long weekend, comparatively speaking. You should expect that mail will be delivered one to two days later that we have become accustomed to.
There are some bright spots to be found in the midst of the changes. The USPS will continue to deliver packages on Saturday. While letters volumes have been dwindling in recent years, due to various factors such as email, package volumes are up 14% since 2010. Delivery of medication on Saturdays is scheduled to continue, as are deliveries to PO Boxes. Post Offices open on Saturday’s will remain open on Saturdays.
Despite all the hand-wringing,this was a common-sense step by postal managers, who are faced with a flood of red ink that reached $16 billion last year. And given the relentless march of digital technology, more changes will be necessary if USPS is to survive.
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