When Will Us Postal Service Resume In Florida

USPS hikes prices and slows deliveries

USPS hikes prices and slows deliveries 02:05

Mail commitment for many Americans will tiresome starting on Fri, office of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy'south design for overhauling the U.S. Postal Service in order to slash costs. Only critics say the slower delivery standards could cause bug such as late bill delivery while more broadly undermining the public's faith in the USPS.

Nearly 4 of 10 pieces of first-class post volition run across slower delivery, according to Paul Steidler, senior fellow at the Lexington Institute and an expert on the postal service. That "means postal service commitment will be slower than in the 1970s," he said, calling DeJoy'southward programme "disastrous."

Starting on October i, the postal service'south current 3-day delivery standard for first-grade mail — messages, bills, tax documents and the similar — will drop to commitment anywhere within the U.Southward. within five days. In other words, Americans should at present wait that messages and other mail could have upwards to 5 days to reach their destinations, and vice versa.

The USPS will go along to have a two-day commitment standard for single-slice splendid mail traveling within a local surface area, a USPS spokeswoman said, adding that the mail service has improved its delivery standards in 2021.

"The mail service has shown steady improvements for all commencement-class mail service, marketing and periodical postal service categories over the last seven months," she said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. "Nosotros have worked tirelessly to overcome challenges from contempo storms and go on to recruit thousands of employees for the upcoming holiday peak flavour."

But critics similar Steidler say people in rural areas, the disabled and the elderly will experience the effects of the new mail commitment standards. "It'due south the least fortunate who will be hurt hardest by this," he said. "Everything in American society is getting faster, it seems, except for the mail commitment — which is at present going to go slower."

It'south possible that people who are paying their bills by mail and non prepared for the modify could incur late fees, for instance, if their checks don't arrive on time. Others may face longer delivery times for important documents such as tax forms or passports. The change could further undermine customers' faith in the U.South. Postal service, which took a hit in 2020 when delivery delays snarled everything from prescription medicationto election ballots, experts say.

$160 billion projected loss

The USPS contends that its 10-year programme is necessary to erase a projected $160 billion loss over the next decade. The effort aims to boost revenue through expanded package delivery and postage hikes, with the latest postage increase having gone into effect in Baronial.

But the Postal Regulatory Commission (Communist china), the federal regulator that oversees the USPS, before this year questioned if the postal service's plan to irksome commitment standards would save coin.

"Reducing service volition but discourage use of the U.Due south. Mail, which is not a formula for long-term financial wellness and stability," said Christopher W. Shaw, the author of the forthcoming book "Offset Course: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy and the Corporate Threat," in an emailed statement.

On Friday, a bipartisan group of 40 lawmakers asked Postmaster DeJoy for more than information about the consolidation of 18 postal service-processing facilities, part of his 10-year plan. In the October i letter, the lawmakers raise concerns about whether closing the facilities would "farther degrade postal service service heading into the busy holiday season," as well every bit lead to job losses.

"We believe that at a minimum, these consolidations should be paused until further information about the justification and touch is made public," representatives including Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from Washington, and Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho, wrote in the alphabetic character.

Slower delivery for Western states

Amongst the regions that volition feel the greatest impact are Western states similar California and Nevada, likewise every bit Florida, according to a Washington Post analysis of the USPS delivery changes earlier this year. Other pockets across the nation will also suffer from slower commitment times, according to an analysis from Steve Hutkins, a retired New York Academy professor who runs a blog called Save the Mail Office.

Steve Hutkins, a retired professor who runs the "Salvage the Mail Part" weblog, submitted this analysis of average delivery times under the USPS programme to slow delivery standards. Western states, Texas, Florida and Maine are amid u.s.a. that would be nigh impacted by the changes, he said. PRC/Steve Hutkins

Before this year, a group of 21 land attorneys general asked the PRC to reject the USPS' plan to boring deliveries, calling information technology a "misguided effort" that would harm ballot mail and mailings of essential documents such every bit passports. They also said the slowdown would have a disproportionate impact on the elderly, rural residents and the disabled.

The USPS on Monday said consumers should await "a 24-hour interval or two of transit time" added for some first-grade mail and magazines "traveling the greatest distances."

"Nosotros'll make better utilise of our trucks and existing surface network to move the mail, relying less on plush air transportation," the agency said in a argument. "By improving service reliability and increasing efficiency, we tin keep costs at reasonable levels and help keep postage rates affordable for our customers."

That might help the USPS' bottom line, but consumers should be enlightened that their post could take longer to attain their destinations — and that the change is permanent, unless Congress gets involved or attorneys general sue the USPS, experts said.

"When you lot reduce standards you perpetuate a vicious down bike," Steidler said. "Y'all tell people you tin accept your fourth dimension delivering it. It causes people to lose confidence in the mail."

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