Click here for Mobile Site: http://m.cbs4denver.com
  • Font Size    
Advertising
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Coloradans React To Dropping Saturday Mail Idea

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Mar 2, 2010 8:43 pm US/Mountain

Coloradans React To Dropping Saturday Mail Idea

Written by Paul Day

Reporting
Paul Day
DENVER (CBS4) ― Counting on mail service six days a week is virtually a birth-right, but now the U.S. Postal Service wants to kill the sacred cow.

"I think it's not a good idea," said surprised postal patron Cornell Wade when told of the plan to eliminate Saturday service.

At a Tuesday news conference in Washington, D.C., postal officials spelled out the problem.

"Any paper-based communication is being challenged by how they exist and provide their services in an Internet world," said John Potter, Postmaster General.

The popularity of e-mail and electronic commerce continues to steal business away from what many have come to call "snail mail."

When combining looming budget shortfalls with the fact mail volume dropped last year by 13 percent, major cost cutting is inevitable.

The idea of dropping Saturday delivery has been talked about and studied before; but this is the first time the postmaster general has announced his intention to seek the legally-required approval from Congress for eliminating such service.

"It's something we don't really want to do but pretty much have to do," said Al Desarro, a spokesman for the Postal Service in Denver.

Desarro claims cutting back to five-day service will save up to $5 Billion per year. He says a survey of postal patrons found 70 percent prefer the idea of dropping Saturday service. Among them is Howard Strand, "Generally I'm so busy on the weekend, sometimes I even forget to pick-up the mail on Saturday."

But many will be inconvenienced.

Flor Alvidrez works for a local law firm.

"We do use the mails on Saturday, even though we're not open, our lawyers do come in and we do make a special effort in case we have time-sensitive material delivered," she explained.

Under the plan, all post office lobbies will remain open on Saturdays. Priority Mail and Parcel Post will not be delivered but Express Mail would continue on Saturdays.

If approved, Saturday mail delivery could be eliminated as soon as early next year.

(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Curious & Controversial News

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Consumer

Top News Stories

© MMX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.