Mere hours until USPS changes in effect as customers brace for slower deliveries

THERE are just hours left until the US Postal Service brings in changes to its services that will delay certain deliveries.

A slew of new systems are being brought in by USPS with the first phase beginning on April 1.

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It comes as the postal service hopes to make major savings over 10 years under the Delivering For America plan.

The service standards for different types of mail are all undergoing adjustments to save $36 billion over a decade, USPS has said.

Savings are hoped to be made from a wide variety of areas of the business from transportation and package processing to real estate costs.

First-Class mail, periodicals, marketing mail, package services (including bound printed matter, media mail, and library mail), USPS ground advantage, priority mail and priority mail express will all be impacted.

The second phase of the changes will begin on July 1.

According to the postal service, 75% of first-class mail customers will not notice any delays in service and 14% will see an improvement.

But, the company admitted that 11% of first-class customers will see slower delivery times though it said all deliveries would be complete within five days.

USPS said it will be able to carry out the changes “while also preserving the current service standard day ranges for First-Class Mail and USPS Ground Advantage, thus ensuring the standard First-Class Mail delivery time will not exceed 5 days”.

It added that they will also be able to “enhance service predictability and reliability” and offer a two to three day turnaround service “within regions and specific locals areas”.

USPS also said these enhancements would give increased flexibility in transportation.

“[This] may extend service expectations by one day for mail collected at certain Post Offices, while overall improving delivery speeds for mail and packages between regions.”

Under the improvements, postal workers will be able to leave hubs earlier to travel further for deliveries, making the service more reliable for those living in more rural areas.

But there will also be some delays for some customers as USPS cancels Saturdays and the day before a holiday as a transit day for mail.

This means all packages mailed on those days will take an extra day to arrive at their destination.

Zipcodes will also undergo changes with a five-digit regional add-on to enhance the service.

The postal service is desperate to claw back funds after losing $6.5 billion despite generating $79 billion in revenue in 2023.

And it is facing internal struggles as Louis DeJoy, who was Postmaster General at the USPS, resigned on Monday after almost five years at the helm.

He was reportedly worried that Donald Trump would fire him and beat him to the post after he looked to the Department of Government Efficiency for help following heavy losses.

As USPS prepares to roll out the first phase of changes, it has created a tool for customers to learn more about their expected delivery times under the changes.

The Application Programming Interface detailing the new specifications can be found here on the USPS Developer Portal.

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And as of Monday, USPS customers were able to access service standards on the company’s website for mailings from one ZIP code to another on certain dates.

Here they can see all available mail classes and their expected delivery dates.

There is also an interactive map showing service standards.

The wave of changes is taking place as mail carriers are being pushed to take on more work, with a proposal to use them to conduct the US Census in addition to delivering mail.

This has raised even more fears of increased delivery problems and overstretched workers.