USPS is changing mail delivery times. Here’s what you need to know.
According to a report, the USPS is looking to save $3 billion annually, which could result in slower mail delivery in some rural areas. A new plan was recently introduced to cut costs and improve the financial situation.
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In 2023, the Postal Service operates 33,641 post offices and contract locations in the United States and delivered a total of 127.3 billion packages and mail items to 164.9 million delivery locations in fiscal year 2022.
USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday, as required by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022; only Priority Express and packages for Amazon are delivered on Sundays. The USPS delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities.
The expected budget deficit of the US Postal Service rises to 7 billion for 2009
What changes will be made to postal delivery times?
According to CBS News, under the proposed changes, all mail would continue to be delivered within two to five days, a USPS spokesperson said. The majority of mail from rural areas is currently delivered in three days or less, which will continue to be the case, he added.
However, mail from some rural areas may take 12 to 24 hours longer to arrive, but will still arrive within two to five days. In some cases, a letter that would otherwise have taken three days may take four days, for example, the spokesman said.
A USPS fact sheet on the proposed changes states that the plan would have no impact on 75% of first-class mail.
Big losses at USPS
The Postal Service has accumulated more than $87 billion in losses from 2007 to 2020. Details were released by the Postal Service ahead of a Sept. 5 meeting where the proposed changes will be discussed with stakeholders before being submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission, the USPS’s regulator.
Election and holiday mail will not be affected because the proposed changes would not take effect until next calendar year, officials said, adding that under the proposal, drugs should continue to be delivered at current rates or even faster.
USPS says these items are prohibited, restricted and unshippable
Before you take a package to the post office, make sure you are not attempting to ship any of these prohibited, restricted, or unshippable items.
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