Postal Service isn't perfect, but is there another choice?

[Aethian]

Well from what I get UPS and FedEx don't want my job...

LINK

Comments?

[Cyphr]

decent article - I still like the idea of no weekend service and one (unlikely) idea to charge extra to filter out unsolicitied junk mail.

[Javarod]

No real surprise actually. As an ex-courier, the higher the density, the better the price, even at a very low rate. Problem is those rural customers, which might be served by requiring people to travel a bit for their mail. While most people think of door to door service, at least here in Phx, that's not as common as it used to be, particularly for residential customers. Many housing developments here have box clusters, not unlike the one's you see in apartment complexes, near each complex entrance, with your box set at what is determined to be the one nearest to you. This saves the postal service having to go to each house, the efficiency there fore making it more cost effective. Also security is better, since you only need to keep an eye on a few places. In rural areas, this would be a matter of creating postal clusters at major intersections a reasonable distance from one's house. Along with reduced service, such as twice or thrice weekly deliveries to reduce the number of carriers and vehicles, i suspect you'd see great savings.

If the post office wants to save money, i'd look at reducing the customization, after all, look at the blue collection boxes, they're custom. So are the green transfer boxes, and the route vehicles. One has to wonder if they started using mass produced generic products, how much would they save in over head? For example, back when the Cherokee was out, it was produced in a two door right hand drive export version, which would serve the postal service well. What was wrong with it? Few standard vehicles meet the requirement for turning circle. If having windows is a security issue, i suspect at little increased cost, the flat glass could be replaced with composite or metal panels.

Honestly i'd love to be in charge of privatizing the post office, i love puzzles, and this is a really good, and fairly complicated one.

decent article - I still like the idea of no weekend service and one (unlikely) idea to charge extra to filter out unsolicitied junk mail.

I think junk mail is one of the post office's biggest mistakes. Bulk mailers get a discount because they use the service so much, which sounds good, until you consider that the greater volume of mail requires more work to move, thereby driving up costs at the same time as you reduce the rate.

[Aethian]

Honestly i'd love to be in charge of privatizing the post office, i love puzzles, and this is a really good, and fairly complicated one.

So how long have you worked at the post office to know it's ins and outs to know how to save money?

We used those jeeps...they became obsolete when the routes got bigger.
The blue collection boxes are just that, blue collect boxes. As in people can drop mail into them.
The green ones are carrier use only. Loops are dropped off into them so that the carrier is walking all day non stop.

If having windows is a security issue, i suspect at little increased cost, the flat glass could be replaced with composite or metal panels.

Have you seen how much glass a LLV or FLLV have? Do you realize how big our blind spots are now even with all the mirrors we have?

Many housing developments here have box clusters, not unlike the one's you see in apartment complexes, near each complex entrance, with your box set at what is determined to be the one nearest to you. This saves the postal service having to go to each house, the efficiency there fore making it more cost effective.

Yes but neighborhoods and townships have to agree to doing something like that. There is also the bigger chance that there can be more vandalism to those boxes because of a large chunk of mail sitting right there. And their space is not infinite, if someone only picks up mail that is near their drive, steps, or front door every four days or so...how often are they going to go down to a NDCBU to pick up their mail?

[Broomjockey]

Seems like this could be a really nice, friendly debate. On Fratching. I think it may even have been bandied about once or twice there, too, so it'll be right at home.

So how long have you worked at the post office to know it's ins and outs to know how to save money?

You might want to lift this stipulation though, when you repost. Kinda limits responders if you ask for comments, then want them to have USPS experience to qualify them to comment.