Southington residents seeking to get their mail on Saturday's will soon have to make other arrangements or simply wait. It seems, at least to those who discussed the matter Wednesday, that's not much of a problem.
Calling the six-days-per-week mail delivery business model “no longer sustainable,” the U.S. Postal Service Wednesday morning announced it will eliminate Saturday delivery of mail later this year.
The reaction was hardly one of anger, as several local residents called the move a smart business decision and said they believe these Saturday deliveries are no longer necessary.
"It doesn't make me upset at all," Jennifer Hamley Lo Presti said on the Southington Patch Facebook page. "Most of what I get in the mail is junk anymore. There's not much that comes U.S. Postal Service that can't wait until Monday."
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For many people, the change may go unnoticed. Several Southington residents said they just don't use the mail service the way they used to now that almost everything is available in digital form.
"The post office is a business just like everything else. If cut backs need to be made, eliminating Saturday mail delivery makes sense," Ruth Stanley said. "The changes don't mean any changes for me."
Post offices will remain open Saturdays and package deliveries will occur on Saturdays, according to the U.S. Postal Service.
In Southington, there are four post office locations available including ones in the downtown area along Main Street, in Plantsville along South Main Street, in Milldale on Clark Street and in Marion on the Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike.
The reasons for the change are continued economic struggles and the increasing use of the Internet for communications and bill paying by consumers, according to the USPS website. The U.S. Postal Service is also the only federal agency required to pre-fund health benefits for retirees, and those costs are escalating quickly.
“Our current business model of delivering mail six days a week is no longer sustainable. We must change in order to remain an integral part of the American community for decades to come.”
Saturday is the lightest mail delivery day by volume and many businesses are closed on Saturdays, according to the U.S. Postal Service. However, many residents receive print magazines and ads on Saturdays in the mail that may be shifted to another day. According to a CBS News report, the change would only affect first-class mail; packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail will continue to be delivered on Saturdays.
A Rasmussen poll on mail delivery in 2012 showed “Three-out-of-four Americans (75%) would prefer the U.S. Postal Service cut mail delivery to five days a week rather than receive government subsidies to cover ongoing losses.”
A USA Today/Gallup poll in 2010 found the majority of U.S. residents surveyed were ok with eliminating Saturday delivery. The March 2010 telephone survey of 999 adults revealed people age 55 and older were more likely than younger people to have used the mail to pay a bill or send a letter in the past two weeks.
Tell Us: How will this change affect you? Will you miss getting mail on Saturdays?
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