Norway’s struggling postal service (Posten Norge) wants to combine its first- and second-class delivery systems known as “A- and B-post,” and thus do away with A-post’s expectations of overnight delivery. Customers can confirm that such expectations often aren’t fulfilled anyway.
State authorities now demand that 85 percent of all A-post be delivered overnight, while B-post should arrive within three to five days. In one recent case, however, a postcard sent from Oslo to suburban Jar didn’t arrive until four days later despite its A-post stamp that costs NOK 10.50 (USD 1.40).
Newspaper Nationen reported over the weekend that the postal service no longer wants to strive for overnight delivery. The new system would merely aim for delivery within two days.
Posten’s proposal for a new postal law calls for a delivery service tailored to “declining volumes of letters and changes in customers’ needs,” reported Nationen. One top Posten officials said the change “must be viewed in connection with the growth of digital post, where delivery can be made immediately.”
newsinenglish.no staff
