Postal service to get upgrade

By BETH LUCAS
Collegian Staff Writer

Mail service may be faster, less expensive and more predictable in the future because of a bill Congress is reviewing.

If passed, the Postal Modernization Act of 1999 would amend regulations that govern the U.S. Postal Service to allow it to expand into competitive private industry strongholds in the postal market.

The act would allow the postal service to offer special rates on bulk mail, change mailing rates more quickly and work with partner businesses in tracking and speeding service, said George Gould, legislative director for the National Association of Letter Carriers.

"I think the postal service needs this (additional) freedom to adapt to the changing commercial marketplace and keep up," said Bob Levi, director of government relations for the National Association of Postmasters.

Mail is metered per package because the post office is not able to give a discount to large volumes, as do private companies such as the United Parcel Service of America Inc. and Federal Express Corp.

"The act is meant to create a fair market if the postal service enters these market areas," said Tad Segal, UPS spokesperson.

Because of the recent 1 cent increase in first-class mail, the postal service will receive an additional $1.6 billion each year on top of the $5 billion it currently makes. As a government agency, it pays no taxes or licensing and zoning fees, he said.

The act also would create the ability of individual post offices to adjust their rates if the ratio of cost of postage to revenue is uneven.

This is meant to protect rural areas that may not take in as much revenue as they need to survive, Levi said.

Many students would welcome any advances in the post office, which they sometimes feel forced to go to, Leah Greene (sophomore-international business management) said.

"I usually just go to the post office because I know where it is," she said. "Having specials would be a nice way to know you can get something back."

But customers would only benefit from the act if it retains the governmentally protected universal service, State College Postmaster Linda Bartraw said.

"We need to be more flexible with rates, but we also need to maintain the sanctity of the post office," she said.