BY ANTHONY O’REILLY
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow can stop them, but a massive budget deficit can.
The United States Post Service (USPS) officially announced on Wednesday that it will be cancelling delivery of first-class mail on Saturdays, starting the week of August 5.
Packages, express and priority mail will still be delivered on Saturdays. Offices opened on Saturdays will remain so with delivery to PO boxes continuing.
The post office estimates that they will save $2 billion annually with the cancellation of weekend mail delivery.
In a survey “nearly seven out of ten Americans (70 percent) supported the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs in its effort to return the organization to financial stability,” said the post office.
Dorota Tylko from Bayside said the cut in service would not affect her everyday life drastically, saying she primarily uses the post office to send packages.
“I use email for communicating and paying bills,” she said. “It’s not really going to affect me.”
In an interview with The Courier last week, post office spokesperson Congetta Chirichello said the Internet and email is a major factor in the recent decrease in the size of ‘snail mail’ being delivered.
“From fiscal year 2001 through the end of 2012, mail volume for this category has declined by almost 23 billion pieces,” she said. “Approximately 42 percent.”
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