Express counter proposal for rural post office survival
Britain’s leading business-to-business express delivery company has dropped an idea into the debate surrounding the potential survival of hundreds, possibly thousands, of rural post offices.
TNT Express Services UK & Ireland is proposing that village post offices broaden their range of services to act as a ‘drop-off point’ for all parcel companies where packages cannot be delivered because the intended residential recipients are unavailable. Currently, only Royal Mail and Parcelforce have access to the network of rural post offices.
Nigel Barton, Director of Operations for TNT Express Services, said the idea would provide multiple benefits for both rural postmasters, delivery companies, customers and the environment.
“At a time when the very existence of rural post offices is in question this would provide them with a source of supplementary revenue, increase the efficiency levels of delivery companies, provide convenient access for the collection of parcels and packages and reduce the number of vehicle movements required to try and re-deliver goods.”
The enlightened initiative comes at a time when the Government is considering a drastic reduction in the GBP150 million-a-year subsidy given to help support the rural post office network
