Why postal delivery times in Germany likely to become slower
As a result of the planned reform of Germany's Postal Act, sending a letter via snail mail is likely to take considerably longer in future.
Regulations on letter delivery times are to be relaxed so that the postal service can reduce its costs.
Until now, Deutsche Post has had to deliver at least 80 percent of posted letters on the next working day and 95 percent on the second working day.
Because of this time pressure, airplanes have flown around Germany at night to deliver letters from the south to the north and vice versa.
READ ALSO: How Deutsche Post wants to create a 'two-tier' system for mail in Germany
According to a proposal by the Ministry of Economics - to which there is currently no resistance in the Bundestag - in future there should be an obligation for 95 percent of letters to reach the recipient on the third day after posting and 99 percent on the fourth day.
This reduced time pressure would allow neighbouring postal services, like Swiss Post for example, to cut costs and cancel night flights. For consumers, however, this means that the average waiting time for letters will be longer than before.
Germany’s coalition government has argued that demand has changed in the face of digitalisation and it is no longer so important that a letter arrives as quickly as possible.
What is more important is that it arrives reliably, they said.
Not everyone happy with changes
However, the postal service is not only transporting letters, parcels and packages, but increasingly also newspapers and magazines. In light of the proposed new delivery times, many publishers are concerned that the print editions they send by post will arrive late.
If delivery is delayed by one or two days, many loyal readers are frustrated and threatened to cancel their subscriptions, they argue.
"We want our readers to receive their newspapers and magazines delivered by post on time," said the Media Association of the Free Press (MVFP) and the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) in a joint statement.
Following an initial parliamentary debate on Wednesday evening, internal consultations between specialised politicians will begin in the Bundestag and the amendment to the law is expected to be completed in the spring.
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Regulations on letter delivery times are to be relaxed so that the postal service can reduce its costs.
Until now, Deutsche Post has had to deliver at least 80 percent of posted letters on the next working day and 95 percent on the second working day.
Because of this time pressure, airplanes have flown around Germany at night to deliver letters from the south to the north and vice versa.
READ ALSO: How Deutsche Post wants to create a 'two-tier' system for mail in Germany
According to a proposal by the Ministry of Economics - to which there is currently no resistance in the Bundestag - in future there should be an obligation for 95 percent of letters to reach the recipient on the third day after posting and 99 percent on the fourth day.
This reduced time pressure would allow neighbouring postal services, like Swiss Post for example, to cut costs and cancel night flights. For consumers, however, this means that the average waiting time for letters will be longer than before.
Germany’s coalition government has argued that demand has changed in the face of digitalisation and it is no longer so important that a letter arrives as quickly as possible.
What is more important is that it arrives reliably, they said.
Not everyone happy with changes
However, the postal service is not only transporting letters, parcels and packages, but increasingly also newspapers and magazines. In light of the proposed new delivery times, many publishers are concerned that the print editions they send by post will arrive late.
If delivery is delayed by one or two days, many loyal readers are frustrated and threatened to cancel their subscriptions, they argue.
"We want our readers to receive their newspapers and magazines delivered by post on time," said the Media Association of the Free Press (MVFP) and the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) in a joint statement.
Following an initial parliamentary debate on Wednesday evening, internal consultations between specialised politicians will begin in the Bundestag and the amendment to the law is expected to be completed in the spring.
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