And Then There Will be Cake • U.S. Postal Service Plans To Launch Experimental Same-Day Delivery Service

U.S. Postal Service Plans To Launch Experimental Same-Day Delivery Service

parislemon:

Frederic Lardinois:

The United States Postal Service (USPS) just informed the Postal Regulatory Commission that it plans to launch an experimental same-day delivery service called Metro Post. The USPS says this test is specifically designed for e-commerce companies and will initially focus on a single (currently undisclosed) metropolitan area. The market test for Metro Post is scheduled to begin around November 12 and run for at least one year.

The USPS as it currently exists is nothing but a bureaucratic nightmare and a black hole for money. It ranks second only to the DMV as the worst thing ever. It’s not entirely clear why it still exists in the 21st century. To ensure junk mail gets delivered?

But this could actually be a decent idea. The infrastructure is in place. Of course it will come down to execution — not exactly the USPS’ strong suit.

Post office makes a profit Congress won’t let it keep

5 Things You Need To Know About The U.S. Postal Service:

Operationally speaking, the USPS nets profits every year. The financial problem it faces now comes from a 2006 Congressional mandate that requires the agency to “pre-pay” into a fund that covers health care costs for future retired employees. Under the mandate, the USPS is required to make an annual $5.5 billion payment over ten years, through 2016. These “prepayments” are largely responsible for the USPS’s financial losses over the past four years and the threat of shutdown that looms ahead – take the retirement fund out of the equation, and the postal service would have actually netted $1 billion in profits over this period.

Thank you — exactly what I was saying. People who spew hate about the postal service don’t know what they’re talking about and are just repeating talking points they’ve heard.

Source: parislemon