US Postal Service conducting route inspections

Monday, April 29th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

You may have noticed a few extra people alongside area mail carriers Monday. That's because the US Postal Service is conducting a series of citywide route inspections, designed to improve your service.

News on Six reporter Patrina Adger says for the next three weeks, route inspectors will accompany mail carriers as they deliver the mail to determine the most efficient pattern of delivery.

One letter carrier delivers the mail to more than 400 East Tulsa customers daily, a very demanding task. A route inspector is keeping track of what goes on. He's following the carrier all day, logging every aspect and every function of his delivery route. "They have mail that they'll actually case into delivery sequence in order to get that prepared.â€ They load their vehicles and inspect their vehicles they take the mail to the street and then, there are the duties of actually delivering the mail. And how long it takes to complete.

"We look for the length of the route, we look for mail volume, we look for community growth and the number of deliveries the letter carriers have to make." Customer relations coordinator Becky Wolfe says the goal is to provide an efficient delivery pattern, which would cut back on inconsistent and late deliveries to customers. And provide an eight-hour workday for carriers. "We like to provide a timely, accurate, consistent delivery and by doing this route assignment and route evaluations weâ€™re able to do that."

Wolfe says its part of the United Postal Services commitment in providing prompt and accurate service. "We're very dedicated to serving our customers." The Postal Service has conducted studies like this for years. There are a number of routes in Tulsa, and every single one will be evaluated.

The Postal Service already conducted evaluations in the rural areas because those standards are different.