Some West Alabama Residents Concerned Over Lacking Mail Delivery

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

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Throughout my childhood, I heard that recited often as the unofficial motto of the United States Postal Service. For decades, it made sense. The mail was delivered like clockwork six (6) days a week. Now, the normal delivery schedule in my Northport neighborhood is ONE day. You read that correctly. Several of my neighbors and I only get mail one day a week.

So, USPS… What gives?!?

In the past couple of years, I knew our mail delivery seemed irregular, but we would still get mail a few days a week. Then, a few days, went to two, and now, it’s one day a week. I thought perhaps, it was localized to our neighborhood. Our regular mail carrier passed away last year, and we have had a long line of different carriers since. It wasn’t until earlier this month that I realized the problem isn’t localized to our neighborhood.

A Northport resident took to the website “Nextdoor” to complain about the same problem and to relay what he was told when he asked why service had been drastically reduced. Take a look at his post here…

Credit: Donna Marrero via Nextdoor

It seems that a combination of issues has led to the bigger problem overall. The Northport Post Office has struggled with a lack of permanent mail carriers and high turnover rates, forcing remaining staff to cover multiple routes or rotate schedules.

According to USPS.org,  changes like the Postal Service’s Local Transportation Optimization initiative altered evening dispatch and sorting schedules, causing local mail and packages to sit longer before final out-for-delivery routing.

Surges in e-commerce, Amazon delivery contracts, and increased partnerships utilizing the USPS for 3^rd party deliveries, without adding additional local staff and vehicles, have also contributed to longer delays.

When you factor in all these changes, it looks like the old motto is obsolete. A new motto should reflect the USPS being overworked, understaffed, and making no delivery guarantees.