The ZIP Code was introduced in 1963 to improve the speed and efficiency of mail processing by using machine-readable codes. Over the years, it has become ubiquitous in the marketplace and the culture in general, and it’s one of the Postal Service’s most valuable assets.
When it comes to postal rates and service standards, all ZIP codes have been treated equally. It doesn’t matter if it’s densely populated or sparse, urban or rural. The ZIP Code helps bind the country together. But all that is changing.
The Postal Service’s Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) plan, now under review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, would end afternoon collections at most post offices, which will add a day to service standards for outgoing mail at offices more than 50 miles from a Regional Processing and Distribution Center. The plan uses the 5-digit ZIP of the originating post office to identify where the downgrades in service standards will apply. Under the current system, a 3-digit ZIP prefix is used to define the standards, which doesn’t allow for the kind of targeted service reductions of the RTO.
