It’s by now a familiar scene. If you live in a neighborhood that gets rural delivery, you’re used to U.S. Postal Service trucks whizzing by two, three or even more times a day, seven days a week – delivering packages at which this government agency remains an effective competitor to UPS and FedEx.

If it’s your mail you’re after, things are a lot less certain. The standard has long been six days of delivery per week, Monday through Saturday. For the last two months I haven’t seen a single week with six deliveries; sometimes there are five, sometimes four.

It’s especially frustrating that despite numerous rate increases – six in just the last four years, from 55 cents to 78 cents, a 42% jump – the most basic measurement, consistent home delivery, has fallen.

It’s enough to make one wonder

See Full Page