Mail Delivery Takes a New Route

“Neither snow nor rain” keeps postal carriers from their rounds, but a drop in mail volume has led the U.S. Postal Office to change their routes.

Last week, Livingston residents began receiving post cards from the town's Postmaster informing them of the changes .

"Drastic changes in mail volume and improvements in systems used to process and deliver mail are driving our decision to readjust delivery routes in Livingston and throughout the nation," said USPS Northeast Area spokesman George Flood.

According Flood, these changes to the Livingston postal delivery routes went into effect earlier this month. While most residents will not notice a change in their service, some may now receive their mail earlier than usual while others may find their letters coming a bit later in the day, Flood said.

"We are asking for our customers' patience as we go through a brief transitional period getting acclimated to the new carrier routes," Flood said.

Data provided by the USPS shows that the volume of mail in towns like Livingston has dropped off considerably over the past five years. In 2006, an estimated 213 billion pieces of mail passed through the U.S. postal system. By 2010 that number dropped to 170 billion pieces for a decrease of roughly 20 percent.

There are two key factors relating to the decline in mail, Flood said. The first has to do with the widespread adoption of email. People have shifted from sending letters to sending electronic messages and information over the Internet, which can be accessed on computers, tablets or smartphones. In addition, the nation's economic slowdown has also played a role as businesses have scaled back and decreased mailings.

The news isn't all bad for the USPS as it has seen an uptick in demand in other aspects of its business. "We are experiencing an increase in Priority Mail, especially our new Flat Rate boxes" Flood said.

Flat Rate boxes are free boxes, which come in a variety of sizes that are distributed by the Postal Service and can be shipped by customers for a fixed cost regardless of the weight or destination of the package. Sales of such services are vital to the USPS because the Postal Service is entirely self-supported and does not receive any tax money to operate. "We rely solely on the sale of postage, products and services to fund operations,” Flood said.

While there have not been any reported delays in mail service, it is possible that issues can arise down the road. For that reason the spokesperson noted that Livingston residents are invited to call the USPS if they notice problems with their mail delivery using the following contact information:

Phone:

• Livingston Post Office:  (973) 992-8401

• USPS Northern New Jersey District Consumer Affairs: (973) 468-7047

• National Customer Service Call Center: 1-800-275-8777

Mail:

• Postmaster
  49 West Mount Pleasant Avenue
  Livingston, NJ 07039-9998 

• USPS Northern New Jersey Consumer Affairs
  494 Broad Street 2nd Floor
  Newark, NJ 07102-9335

• Consumer Advocate
  United States Postal Service
  475 L'Enfant Plaza SW RM 10433 Washington, DC 20260-2200