New rules delay first-class mail

Published 9:00 pm Friday, August 10, 2001

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — New U.S. Postal Service delivery standards are adding an extra day for first-class mail delivered to most cities in the West.

The change means some first-class mail that used to be delivered in two days by air now will be delivered in three days by road. At the same time, some East Coast customers are getting faster service.

"It’s not the length of time that bothers me," said Maria Salazar of San Francisco. "We are paying for something we are not getting."

Since February, the Postal Service has applied a formula that says if mail gets from one point to another by ground transportation in less than 12 hours, the mail is delivered in two days.

"If it takes 12 hours and 1 minute, then the mail will arrive in three days," said Chuck Gannon, the Postal Service’s national manager for service standards.

Surface transportation is the standard because of growing problems with airlines, Gannon said. He cited a study showing airline delays up 58 percent since 1995, while canceled flights were up 60 percent.

"Our mail can’t jump and holler, ‘Put me on another flight,’ " said Gannon. "Our mail ends up sitting on the tarmac."

Under the new standards put in place earlier this year, delivery between 27,000 paired cities was increased from two days to three days. Most of these routes are in the West, Gannon said.

On the East Coast, 49,000 city pairs get first-class mail delivered in two days instead of three as a result of the change, Gannon said.

Postal Service officials said the change was needed to provide uniform service across the nation.

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