MIAMISBURG -- U.S. Postal Service will end Saturday mail delivery to save $2 billion a year. Many agree it's a simple way to save, but it will affect bill payments. Lets say you have a bill due Monday. Depending on where it's going, right now you can get away with putting it in the mailbox by Thursday. Come August, Mail Carriers get one less day, and so do you. You'll have to mail it out by Wednesday.
Most people won't even need a mail carrier to pay their bills,
"I do most of those online," said Linda Truman of Miamisburg.
Still, there are those like Barbara Miller who "do still mail my bills," she said.
And she still can, but with Saturday's out of the picture for mailing any letters and magazines, there's no procrastinating. Starting in August, mail carriers will deliver packages six days a week, but they'll only send letters for five.
"That's good, packages is what I mail the most to my daughter in Montana," said Miller.
And whether your sending mail to Montana or, "I'm sending official mail to the office in New Jersey," said Abhi Kohli of Miamisburg, you'll have six more months before that letter won't make it on Saturday.
"As long as we're able to send five days a week, it'll still be good. I think they should get a day off," said Kohli.
"They had to make cuts some place and that's a reasonable place to make it," said Truman.
But the Post Office will continue delivering your packages on Saturday because the the demand is up 14 percent in the last two years. And while people we talked to today don't seem too frustrated by the cuts, they fear this may only be round one.
"I don't know if they'll still be able to make it, they may have to be privatized in the long run but it's a good start," said Truman.
Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Multiple news agencies are reporting that the U.S. Postal Service plans to announce today it will end Saturday mail delivery to cut costs at the struggling agency.
The USPS will continue to deliver packages six days a week, according to this proposal. The plan should save about $2 billion and would take effect in August.
Package delivery for the post office has increased while letter and other mail delivery has declined steadily over the years with the increasing use of email and Internet.
Under the proposal, mail would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays and post offices now open on Saturdays would remain open on Saturdays.
The Postal Service has in recent years advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages -- and it repeatedly but unsuccessfully appealed to Congress to approve the move. The service gets no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control.
Fox News reported that 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.
USPS NEWS RELEASE:
Postal Service Announces New Delivery Schedule
Six Days of Package Delivery, Five Days of Mail Delivery Begins August 2013
WASHINGTON â The United States Postal Service announced plans today to transition to a new delivery schedule during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.
âThe Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from Americaâs changing mailing habits,â said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO. âWe developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.â
Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package delivery (14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days per week.
âOur customers see strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform,â said Donahoe. âAs consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services â especially due to the rise of e-commerce â we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for Americaâs businesses.â
Once implemented during August of 2013, mail delivery to street addresses will occur Monday through Friday. Packages will continue to be delivered six days per week. Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.
Market research conducted by the Postal Service and independent research by major news organizations indicate that nearly seven out of ten Americans (70 percent) supported the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs in its effort to return the organization to financial stability.[1] Support for this approach will likely be even higher since the Postal Service plans to maintain six-day package delivery.
The Postal Service is making the announcement today, more than six months in advance of implementing five-day mail delivery schedule, to give residential and business customers time to plan and adjust. The Postal Service plans to publish specific guidance in the near future for residential and business customers about its new delivery schedule.
Given the ongoing financial challenges, the Postal Service Board of Governors last month directed postal management to accelerate the restructuring of Postal Service operations in order to strengthen Postal Service finances.
âThe American public understands the financial challenges of the Postal Service and supports these steps as a responsible and reasonable approach to improving our financial situation,â said Donahoe. âThe Postal Service has a responsibility to take the steps necessary to return to long-term financial stability and ensure the continued affordability of the U.S. Mail.â
The operational plan for the new delivery schedule anticipates a combination of employee reassignment and attrition and is expected to achieve cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually when fully implemented.
The Postal Service is currently implementing major restructuring throughout its retail, delivery and mail processing operations. Since 2006, the Postal Service has reduced its annual cost base by approximately $15 billion, reduced the size of its career workforce by 193,000 or 28 percent, and has consolidated more than 200 mail processing locations. During these unprecedented initiatives, the Postal Service continued to deliver record high levels of service to its customers.
While the change in the delivery schedule announced today is one of the actions needed to restore the financial health of the Postal Service, legislative change is urgently needed to address matters outside the Postal Serviceâs control. The Postal Service continues to seek legislation to provide it with greater flexibility to control costs and generate new revenue and encourages the 113th Congress to make postal reform legislation an urgent priority.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
Follow the Postal Service on www.twitter.com/USPS and at www.facebook.com/USPS.
Connect with ABC 22/FOX 45 Reporter Wale Aliyu on Facebook and Twitter.
Most people won't even need a mail carrier to pay their bills,
"I do most of those online," said Linda Truman of Miamisburg.
Still, there are those like Barbara Miller who "do still mail my bills," she said.
And she still can, but with Saturday's out of the picture for mailing any letters and magazines, there's no procrastinating. Starting in August, mail carriers will deliver packages six days a week, but they'll only send letters for five.
"That's good, packages is what I mail the most to my daughter in Montana," said Miller.
And whether your sending mail to Montana or, "I'm sending official mail to the office in New Jersey," said Abhi Kohli of Miamisburg, you'll have six more months before that letter won't make it on Saturday.
"As long as we're able to send five days a week, it'll still be good. I think they should get a day off," said Kohli.
"They had to make cuts some place and that's a reasonable place to make it," said Truman.
But the Post Office will continue delivering your packages on Saturday because the the demand is up 14 percent in the last two years. And while people we talked to today don't seem too frustrated by the cuts, they fear this may only be round one.
"I don't know if they'll still be able to make it, they may have to be privatized in the long run but it's a good start," said Truman.
Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Multiple news agencies are reporting that the U.S. Postal Service plans to announce today it will end Saturday mail delivery to cut costs at the struggling agency.
The USPS will continue to deliver packages six days a week, according to this proposal. The plan should save about $2 billion and would take effect in August.
Package delivery for the post office has increased while letter and other mail delivery has declined steadily over the years with the increasing use of email and Internet.
Under the proposal, mail would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays and post offices now open on Saturdays would remain open on Saturdays.
The Postal Service has in recent years advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages -- and it repeatedly but unsuccessfully appealed to Congress to approve the move. The service gets no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control.
Fox News reported that 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.
USPS NEWS RELEASE:
Postal Service Announces New Delivery Schedule
Six Days of Package Delivery, Five Days of Mail Delivery Begins August 2013
WASHINGTON â The United States Postal Service announced plans today to transition to a new delivery schedule during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.
âThe Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from Americaâs changing mailing habits,â said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO. âWe developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.â
Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package delivery (14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days per week.
âOur customers see strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform,â said Donahoe. âAs consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services â especially due to the rise of e-commerce â we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for Americaâs businesses.â
Once implemented during August of 2013, mail delivery to street addresses will occur Monday through Friday. Packages will continue to be delivered six days per week. Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.
Market research conducted by the Postal Service and independent research by major news organizations indicate that nearly seven out of ten Americans (70 percent) supported the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs in its effort to return the organization to financial stability.[1] Support for this approach will likely be even higher since the Postal Service plans to maintain six-day package delivery.
The Postal Service is making the announcement today, more than six months in advance of implementing five-day mail delivery schedule, to give residential and business customers time to plan and adjust. The Postal Service plans to publish specific guidance in the near future for residential and business customers about its new delivery schedule.
Given the ongoing financial challenges, the Postal Service Board of Governors last month directed postal management to accelerate the restructuring of Postal Service operations in order to strengthen Postal Service finances.
âThe American public understands the financial challenges of the Postal Service and supports these steps as a responsible and reasonable approach to improving our financial situation,â said Donahoe. âThe Postal Service has a responsibility to take the steps necessary to return to long-term financial stability and ensure the continued affordability of the U.S. Mail.â
The operational plan for the new delivery schedule anticipates a combination of employee reassignment and attrition and is expected to achieve cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually when fully implemented.
The Postal Service is currently implementing major restructuring throughout its retail, delivery and mail processing operations. Since 2006, the Postal Service has reduced its annual cost base by approximately $15 billion, reduced the size of its career workforce by 193,000 or 28 percent, and has consolidated more than 200 mail processing locations. During these unprecedented initiatives, the Postal Service continued to deliver record high levels of service to its customers.
While the change in the delivery schedule announced today is one of the actions needed to restore the financial health of the Postal Service, legislative change is urgently needed to address matters outside the Postal Serviceâs control. The Postal Service continues to seek legislation to provide it with greater flexibility to control costs and generate new revenue and encourages the 113th Congress to make postal reform legislation an urgent priority.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
Follow the Postal Service on www.twitter.com/USPS and at www.facebook.com/USPS.
Connect with ABC 22/FOX 45 Reporter Wale Aliyu on Facebook and Twitter.