Roadside post boxes fail to win Irish stamp of approval
An Post’s proposal for rural roadside post boxes has suffered anotherblow after a pilot survey found that voluntary acceptance of the scheme would not “justify the investment”.
The company will now return to communications regulator ComReg, who rejected compulsory placement of the boxes, with a view to trying to change its decision on the matter.
A total of 12,000 homes were surveyed and asked whether they were would be preparedto have a roadside box. However there were just 5,000 responses, with marginally over half saying that they would be prepared to accept the new system.
A spokesman for An Post said that after looking at the figures, the company couldn’t justify investing in the scheme on a voluntary basis.
And those in favour of the scheme did not live a suitable distance away from the main road to be advantageous, he said.
The cash-strapped semi-state has already warned that the plan to deliver to the secureletter boxes is crucial to its survival and would save it up to 35m a year.
“If we were to install roadside boxes, we could cover twice as many houses in two thirdsof the time,” said the spokesman. “But the people who indicated they would participatewere those for whom there would be a minimal advantage to us.”
Out of the 5,000 responses, 2,600 said that they would be prepared to have a box by the roadside. But the spokesman said the idea was not yet scuppered.
The regulator found that there was no provision in law that would allow An Post to obligehouseholders to install a letter box in the grounds of their home.
“We can’t afford to abandon it. The issue of collection and delivery in rural areas is extremely expensive.
“We simply have to look at it again – that will involve us going to ComReg about it andtelling them what our findings were and hopefully convincing them that they have to takea somewhat different view of the compulsory as opposed to voluntary involvement ofthis.”
The move to introduce roadside boxes came after a loss of over 43m for the company last year and is aimed at reducing the substantial cost of delivering post in rural areas.
Other options that An Post are examining are reducing the number of deliveries to three a week and introducing contract deliveries.
If the roadside boxes were installed it would mean postmen would no longer have todeliver mail to isolated houses. Instead, the householders would collect their own mail from the secure box at the roadside.
