D-I-Ying postal deliveries?

[gareth evans]

Currently, with First Class mail taking several days, there is no incentive to pay the extra premium over Second Class, so the impending increase in cost for First Class Stamps means that the Post Office,instead of getting more money in their coffers, will actually get less, and may yet go the way of the Dodo.

Perhaps reducing the cost of First Class stamps would actually increase the takeup and so the profits of the Post Office?

Is it time to set up a social network of postal delivery, along the lines of what Fidonet was before the widespread availability of T'Internet?

[Peter Johnson]

I had mail delivered yesterday (Tuesday) that had been posted on Monday. Didn't check how much postage had been paid.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Remember the postal service has a flat rate for letters across the UK. Meaning the service to distant parts is 'subsidised' by local deliveries.

Cream off the easy stuff and the distant will become totally uneconomic.

I think it a bit unfair to whinge about the PO at the moment. Many services are suffering due to Covid.

[Jethro_uk]

One of the uses the logistics software I worked on in the 90s was to separate out commercial deliveries for couriers. The uncommercial ones were subbed out to Royal Mail ....

[Brian Gaff]

I have to say, we use Free articles for the blind first class mail, all members of the UN as far as I know offer this free service, and yet Royal Mail seem to be losing outer pouches more and more. My guess is that despite it being subsidised by Government they feel it to be unpaid and hence it gets left till last. Be aware though that if you slag off the post office they will deny their involvement. The are just an agent now for Royal Mail. They are not the same company and cannot affect their operations. It is also true to say that many couriers will get your mail there faster and often at less cost than Royal Mail, due to their inefficient way of sorting the mail when compared to what is done elsewhere. Brian

[polygonum_on_google]

Cost is not proportional to distance. From what I vaguely remember, it is delivering tiny quantities of mail to remote locations that are most expensive to serve per item. Even if they are not that many miles away.

Also, has anyone come up with a sensible postage system within a country which is based on differential charging by location (effectively, by distance)?

Mind, I always thought they made a mistake with the letter classes. First class should have been more expensive and better service than is offered. Thus only being a tiny percentage of mail.

[alan_m]

The problems that RM have with timely delivery have existed for a couple of years!

[Bob Eager]

Our all time record has been reached. One week with no mail (but loads expected).

[Dave Plowman (News]

Can only speak for here. They're very good. I have a delightful postman. One before him was excellent too.

[Dave Liquorice]

Aye, highly dependent on where you live. Here 2nd is the same as 1st, ie incoming mail arrives next day. Outgoing can be the same but varies greatly by destination.

"Royal Mail Tracked 48" more often than not ends up as "Royal Mail Tracked 24". Biggest delays are normally in getting the package from supplier into Royal Mail, once in stuff flies through the system barely stopping moving. eg, this "Royal Mail Tracked 48" due to arrive this morning:

14 Dec 0847 "Sender Dispatching Item" 14 Dec 1500 eMail from sender "ready to dispatch" 16 Dec 1246 Rx North West DC 17 Dec 0112 Rx Carlisle MC 17 Dec 0501 Rx Brampton DO

Yes, 4 days since "dispatch" but it didn't hit Royal Mail until midday yesterday...

[polygonum_on_google]

Am happy to criticise RM, but the individual posties are all between good and excellent. Thoughtful, helpful, friendly.

Yesterday, RM van pulled up over the road while I am in my car waiting for partner to go shopping. Postie walks over, I wind window down, she asks "is this XXX Road", which it is. (The road name/house numbering is somewhat odd round here.) Obviously new but in the usual tradition of friendly.

[Dave Plowman (News]

IMHO, no different from other so called 24 hour services at the moment.

[Dave Liquorice]

Arrived before 1100 17 Dec.

[Dave Liquorice]

Except it's supposed to be 48 not 24... Not that I'm complaining that my package arrived this morning instead of tomorrow morning. B-)

[Peter Johnson]

When the class system was introduced in the late 1960s the difference was only 1/2p, which meant that a lot of stuff went first when it need not have done. But currently the difference is 11p, 19p from 1 January.

(The system was set up to deal with the vast amount of mail posted late afternoon that was expected to be delivered the next morning. I have been trawling digitised newspapers for travelling post office stories and find that in the 19th Century the objective was to get letters posted in London delivered early enough the next day to give the recipient enough time to write a reply and post it in time to be delivered in London the next morning. Reports on accidents would usually end 'the post arrived at xxx two hours late (or whatever).'

[Dave Plowman (News]

In percentage terms, there's very little difference between 3p and 2.5p than between 76p and 65p.

[gareth evans]

I had a friend (RIP) who bought stamps at one minute past midnight on the day of issue from the all-night post office (Trafalgar Square?) and then rushed to catch the travelling post offices leaving London in order to get the very special "AM" cancellation because the TPOs franked mail with the date of leaving London otherwise you'd get a first day cover postmarked the day before!

[DJC]

If there is a lot of post to sort then first-class post collected in the afternoon will be sorted while the second class is held back. In quiter times the second class will go through with the first.

[Peter Johnson]

Yes, it was Trafalgar Square. The objective was to get the up trains to London. The down trains had all gone by about 10.30. Once, when the M1 was new, someone hired an e-type Jaguar because it allowed them to get further from London and get postmarks that hadn't been available previously. There was, apparently, great excitement when the Forth Road Bridge stamps were issued in Edinburgh at midnight, because they could chase Scottish TPOs and get pre-dated covers from them.