Marsha Harris, lead sales and service associate at the downtown Tulsa post office, sticks stamps on packages for customers. The Postal Service has announced it will halt Saturday deliveries starting in August. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World
Blame it on email or the Internet, but the U.S. Postal Service made a bold, but probably not unexpected, announcement.
No more mail will be
delivered on Saturdays.
News reports say it will save about $2 billion and start in August.
This announcement comes after rates were raised last month.
A first-class stamp now costs 46 cents.
These moves are to help staunch the gushing loss of revenue.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced in November that the agency loses about $25 million a day.
For the fiscal year ending on Sept. 20, the Postal Service reported a $15.9 billion loss, which is more than triple from the previous year.
It reached its $15 billion borrowing limit with the Treasury Department in October.
U.S. mail volume was about 159.9 million pieces last year, a 5 percent decline from 2011.
The agency has cut its workforce by about 35 percent and closed or consolidated offices in the last few years.
While the Postal Service is an independent agency getting no tax support to provide services, it still has congressional oversight.
Congress has resisted changing a provision requiring Saturday service.
It is unclear how the move can be made without congressional approval.
It's inevitable that the delivery system has to change as digital services become easier and cheaper for communication.
That doesn't mean there isn't a need for snail mail services.
I still get giddy when I see a personal letter in my mailbox.
My kids get absolutely thrilled.
But, this may be just part of how the service must evolve in a technological age.
Let's hope it leads to not only its survival but also a long life.
