General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A Letter From A Former Letter Carrier [View all]mikekohr
(2,312 posts)Mail customers in tiny, unprofitable towns do not receive the same service as an urban customer. In these small towns mail is picked up at a post office box, in the post office.
In urban delivery mail is brought to the customer's door. Closing these unprofitable sinkholes would result in rural customers having their mail delivered to their door or to a centralized postal box like at apartment complexes.
The exorbitant cost of maintaining these rural, tiny village Post Offices can no longer be passed onto urban mail users because of plummeting First Class Mail volume. Technology, the internet, now gives people an option that is instantaneous and free.
You are correct in that there are some facilities in major cities that need to be consolidated and that is happening .
Local example: La Salle/Peru Illinois, combined population approx. 25,000 people. These two zip codes 61301 and 61354 previously had 3 Postal facilities located in the downtown areas of these two towns close to the Illinois River. All three facilities have been combined into a single facility at the far north end of La Salle, nearby Interstate 80. While some people have to drive up to 10 miles round trip to visit the existing facility, mail is delivered via Letter Carrier to every home, business and apartment.