An Post to miss next-day delivery target

AN POST is on course to break its promise to the public to deliver 80% of all mail the next day, figures have shown.

Yesterday, postal watchdog ComReg revealed just 79% of letters posted between July and September arrived the next day — short of the government target of 94%.

ComReg’s latest quarterly findings reflect an Irish Examiner survey, published earlier this month, that found just 73% of mail arrived on time with one in four letters late.

After the Irish Examiner told An Post about the paper’s findings, the semi-state company insisted it would achieve its own target of 80% this year and 94% within three years.

But as the amount of mail posted at Christmas increases around threefold, An Post looks unlikely to hit the 80% next-day target for the remaining three months of this year.

Between 2003 and 2006 the next-day delivery rates during October, November and December plunged as low as 63% as a result of the sheer volume of post.

Over Christmas the number of letters, parcels and packages posted in Ireland’s 3,000 letterboxes rises from three million a day to about 10 million.

An Post management said the ComReg figures showed the country’s postal service was improving — and was better than last year.

“Our rate of 79% next-day delivery between July and September represents a substantial increase of 5% on the same period last year,” said communications boss Anna McHugh.

“It brings quality within one percentage point of the agreed target for this year and we will continue to build on this improvement.”

In the first six months of this year An Post delivered 78% of mail on time but the figure of 79% for the July to September period was An Post’s best quarterly result since 2003, according to ComReg research.

The public can expect further improvements in next-day delivery rates, according to the Communication Workers’ Union.

“The important thing is the delivery rates are on an upward curve,” said CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick.

“We are also using satellite tracking [of postal vans and lorries] to see where we are falling down.”

He said the way ComReg measured An Post performance meant delivery rates were even measured during Christmas.

“Unfortunately you are looking at about three to four times the volume of mail but we don’t get three to four times the amount of staff,” said Mr Fitzpatrick.

Market researchers TNS/mrbi posted 6,429 letters on behalf of ComReg for the survey and also found that 98% were delivered within three days against the government target of 99.5%.