The United States Postal Service is slowing down service. USPS has been struggling under budget and operational pressures for years. Now, the agency is lowering expectations in an effort to shore up service.
The goal is to make on-time delivery more consistent and less expensive.
First-class parcels previously had a three day delivery standard. Now, these packages will move to a two to five day delivery expectation. The end result? Fewer flights to move packages across the U.S. and more ground transportation.
Here’s what USPS is saying about the changes
“The Postal Service will increase time‐in‐transit standards by 1 or 2 days for certain mail that are traveling longer distances. By doing so, the Postal Service can entrust its ground network to deliver more First-Class Mail, which will lead to greater consistency, reliability, and efficiency that benefits its customers,” USPS officials said this week.
The USPS released a fact sheet aimed at quelling concerns that may arise from the change.
One major takeaway from the change is that anything being mailed three or fewer hours away should still arrive within two days, USPS says. Another major takeaway is that delivery changes will not be evenly applied across the U.S. based on geography.
For example, deliveries in sparsely populated areas will see slower turnaround times — whereas densely populated places like cities and large states will see faster deliveries.
READ IT: Fact sheet issued by USPS about delivery delays and service slowdowns
In all, USPS says 93% of packages sent first-class will continue to arrive on time. The changes will ‘improve service reliability’ and increase efficiency by reducing costs.
Here’s a look at how USPS expects delivery speed to pan out under the new service plan:
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected]