Postal service in Sweden - PTS-ER-2006:31
26/10/2006
In March 2006, PTS was assigned by the Government to survey the distance separating mail recipients in rural areas from their private letter boxes etc. and to formulate what may be considered as a reasonable service level taking into account the distance to letter boxes and the delivery costs. The assignment also includes explaining what is meant by ‘principal routes’ and ‘subsidiary routes’ for the delivery service, and to make an international comparison. In the 2006 Terms of Reference for the agency, PTS was also requested to report on how the General Advice on the delivery of post when providing a universal postal service under the Postal Services Act issued by the agency has been applied. This document gives an account of the two assignments.
The follow-up of the General Advice of PTS shows that Posten considers that the General Advice has clarified the requirements for the universal postal service. However, this has not involved any substantial changes in how Posten plans its distribution service, with the exception of its efforts to promote the introduction of letter box installations in apartment blocks in urban areas. PTS considers that, with a few exceptions, changes to the delivery service have been conducted in accordance with PTS’s General Advice.
The PTS survey of the distance to letter boxes outside urban areas and the Temo survey regarding the postal and counter habits of the population both confirm that the service level in Sweden is generally regarded as high. Only 3 % of addressees served by rural postmen have letter boxes located more than 500 metres from their home or workplace and 1 % has more than 1 000 metres to the letter box. However, there are a small number of addressees who have to cover significantly longer distances in order to reach their letter boxes. In the light of these facts and taking delivery costs into account, PTS considers much speaks in favour of fixing a maximum distance of 1 000 metres to the letter box. PTS estimates that the delivery costs for serving the 6 500 households and businesses that now have more than 1 000 metres to their private letter boxes would increase by 5 %, or almost SEK 39 million, compared with current costs of delivery.
PTS proposes two possible solutions in order to improve the postal service for addressees with remote letter boxes, without incurring an unreasonable increase in delivery costs. The first alternative would mean that the current regulation is supplemented with a maximum specified distance of 1 000 metres to the letter box. The definition of principal and subsidiary routes should be explained in these terms under the ‘Definitions’ heading of the General Advice of PTS, since the guidelines for the postman’s principal route and subsidiary route will continue to be important for Posten’s planning of the delivery rounds. It should be considered in this context whether the number of addressees without daily delivery could be allowed to increase slightly.
Another alternative already employed in Finland and Norway would be that delivery outside urban areas, as a main rule, is provided within a given distance from the addressee which would be 200 metres in Sweden according to the proposal of PTS. Furthermore, postal delivery to some people, for example expressed as a percentage of the total number of addressees outside urban areas, could be effected within a maximum distance of 1 000 metres from the addressee's home/workplace. The possibility of exemptions owing to unreasonably high costs or unsuitable roads could be accompanied by a requirement for Posten to submit an annual report to PTS, including reasons regarding individual cases.