An Post embarks on campaign to promote roadside boxes

AN Post is embarking on a major campaign to convince 400,000 urban residents to accept roadside boxes instead of direct deliveries.

The Office of the Director of Communications Regulation (Com Reg) has ruled that An Post must fulfil its obligation to deliver directly to the doors of rural and urban dwellers.

But ComReg said An Post could also give residents the option of having roadside post boxes, but it could not compel them to take them.

An Post says it cannot afford to shelve the plan and is now going through the tendering process for the €35 million contract.

The company is expected to report losses of €70 million for 2002, including the one-off restructuring cost of €50 million.

An Post says the plan for secure roadside letter boxes is crucial to its survival and could yield savings of €35 million a year.

The company will now embark on a major publicity campaign to convince urban customers to accept these roadside boxes in their gardens. It plans to hold a series of public meetings with residents associations all over the country to bring home the benefits of the new system to its customers.

If An Post gets the agreement of the majority of residents in any one estate it will install the roadside boxes in that estate.

“If one or two residents don’t agree with the majority decision they will be given the option of picking up their mail from the local deli-very office,” An Post’s spokesman said.

The company is considering tenders from 20 companies to install the roadside boxes and expects the work to start in the autumn.

In its ruling against An Post last week, ComReg stated that while there were clearly merits in providing the boxes, it would have to be voluntary and the company would have to get the agreement of the majority of people in a locality. ComReg also stressed that vulnerable groups like the disabled and the elderly who depend on front door deliveries should be protected.

An Post chief executive John Hynes had claimed that the original plan to install 500,000 roadside boxes had been approved by Cabinet, but a senior Government source rejected this claim yesterday.