The United States Postal Service is revamping its service standards to save billions.
Changes to its First Class service will help the USPS save upward of $36 billion over the next decade, after losing over $100 billion since 2007. This includes a whopping “$9.5 billion in the 12 months ending September 30, 2024,” according to Newsweek.
Outgoing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that the mail delivery service would be forced to take a federal bailout or “the end of this great organization as we know it” if they didn’t continue making cost-cutting moves.
What are these changes going to look like and how are they going to impact your daily mail delivery?
Beginning April 1, periodicals, marketing mail, first-class mail and package services will see delivery service adjustments. This will mean that 75% of first-class mail will be delivered the same as always, but 14% will be delivered faster while 11% is delivered slower. You can expect all first-class mail to be received within one to five business days.
Additionally, a five-digit regional code will be used by postal workers following the standard zipcode to improve delivery accuracy. This will replace the current three-digit code currently in use.
Rural customers will also be positively impacted by these changes as mail carriers will be authorized to leave the mail center earlier and travel further to make sure those living out of town get their mail reliably and in a timely manner. The mailing process will also be explained using three phases to help customers better understand the shipping process.
“The changes will maintain service at existing levels for most volume and upgrade standards for more market-dominant volume than is downgraded. The changes will enhance service reliability nationwide while maintaining the existing five-day service standard day range for first-class mail, whereas the day ranges for end-to-end marketing mail, periodicals and package services will be shortened,” the USPS said in a statement.
Between “transportation, mail processing, and real estate cost reductions,” the postal service is expected to save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars within the next 10 years.
DeJoy celebrated the changes in a statement of his own.
“By implementing the new standards and the operational initiatives to which they are aligned, we will be better able to achieve the goals of our modernization plans and create a high-performing, financially sustainable organization, which is necessary to achieve the statutory policies and objectives established for the Postal Service by law,” he said on February 26.
President Donald Trump, who is currently overseeing a litany of federal changes aimed at saving taxpayers’ money and increasing government efficiency, has considered merging the USPS with the Commerce Department. This would ultimately bring it under the authority of the Executive Branch, giving the president power over mail delivery.
“We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money. And we’re thinking about doing that,” he said.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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