The USPS will soon complete implementation of the RTO. The cost savings remain unclear, but the impacts on the country are coming into focus. It’s not a pretty picture.
Postal Service initiative to end evening collections reaches 15,000 post offices
The Postal Service has now implemented Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) at over 15,000 post offices. Under RTO, mail is no longer collected at the end of the business day at post offices. Letters and packages are instead bagged and held until the following morning, when everything is collected at the same time the day’s mail is dropped off for delivery. … Read More
Postmarks delayed, ballots denied: Warnings flash in Washington
A cost-cutting change to how the Postal Service handles outgoing mail at post offices is quietly undermining the vote-by-mail process. In states that rely on Election Day postmarks, a growing share of ballots are being rejected — not for arriving late, but for lacking a timely postmark. Earlier this week, a special election was held in Washington state, with counties … Read More