Will Vehicle Cuts Really Help USPS?
The U.S. Postal Service has not received an operational subsidy from Congress since 1982, and current estimates forecast the federal agency will lose a record $6.4 billion in fiscal 2009. And that estimate is on the conservative side.
On top of losses of $2.8 billion in fiscal 2008 and $5.1 billion in fiscal 2007 — the USPS last turned a profit of $900 million in fiscal 2006 – how much of a dent will the latest cost-cutting measure make? Deputy Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, who is also the USPS chief operating officer, said a reduction in leased and postal-owned vehicles this year will save approximately $54 million.
According to Donahoe, the year-end goal is to remove 10,000 vehicles from the existing fleet of 220,000 vehicles. This will involve transferring some 3,000 right-hand drive vehicles to rural routes, redistributing under-utilized vehicles to where they are needed, and selling surplus vehicles. Area and district offices also will evaluate their needs for administrative vehicles and share resources.
“From both an environmental and business standpoint, it’s the right thing to do,” says Donahoe, explaining the cost reduction in combined fuel and maintenance costs when completed.
For an agency that, literally, might run out of money by year’s end, coupled with a devastating decline in mail volume, it’s hard to figure how this measure will fix the massive boulder nearing the edge of the cliff that is the USPS.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:11 pm
What the Postat service (note the lack of uppercase S) needs is a redefinition of SERVICE and a workforce that looks at mail delivery as just that–a SERVICE. Bolster employee attitude and let employees make positive suggestions for improving SERVICE and Donahoe might see an even bigger savings than he’ll get by taking vehicles off the road.