The writing has been on the wall for letter post since the electronic age ushered in emails and the ability to pay bills with the click of a mouse. Postage stamps have had four price rises since 2008 - and now the price is about to jump to a dollar and the delivery will take an extra two days. There is the expectation that not only will mail volumes shrink further - faster - but whole industries will see this thrust change upon them.
We are heading into a two speed letter rate. The present 70 c will increase to a dollar for "Standard "delivery, which will take two days longer to arrive in your letter box, but for those who need a faster service a yet not disclosed "priority " price will apply. Pensioners and concession card holders will be shielded by a 60 c post charge and Christmas cards will receive a 65 c discount rate.
It seems inevitable that this will convince the last holdouts still paying bills by posting a cheque to move to the cheaper electronic alternative and industry will become more aggressive in moving their accounting to direct debit and electronic billing. It is quite possible that those who lack computer access will be still offered the old mail billing, but at a premium cost for what will be termed a "special "service.
An array of magazines still reach readers through the post and these are negotiated on a bulk rate by consultation, but it seems inevitable that this rate will also rise and that can only mean an increase in subscription rates that will drive many to embrace the "e " version in replacing print. The proprietors of titles such as Time magazine, the Economist, The Monthly, National Geographic - will all face decisions now that transmission costs are running against the print version.
Then there is the giant greeting card industry, the mainstay of most newsagencies. Will the increased cost of postage doom the habit of mailing birthday cards ? Even Christmas cards are fast becoming age sensitive. The volumes are dropping as the younger generation embraces the novelty aspect offered by the many apps enabling colourful messaging.
The postal service is a big employer of labour and we are yet to learn what cuts will occur to trim the workforce to this new delivery timetable. It seems likely that the sorting of mail will be reduced to a day shift to avoid the present overtime paid for night sorting, and mail transport between delivery centres will be less frequent. It is possible that road transport may replace air cargo as a cost measure and mail box clearance times may face time extensions.
We are still retaining the universal cost of mailing from any point in Australia to any address in this country, but now there is a speed option geared to the stamp cost. A vast quantity of business mail passes directly into post office boxes, but the post office is still required to retain a vast network of mail delivery people and their equipment to hand deliver an ever diminishing volume of letters to every mailbox in every city, town and village in this huge continent.
Basically, Australia post is fast morphing into a courier service. As the number of postal items needing delivery to a suburb decreases the cost of handling each item steadily increases. There was talk that mail deliveries might be restricted to each alternative day, but that has not been implemented - so far ! Instead, delivery has been slowed to reduce costs and the letter rate increased - and it is likely that hard headed decisions will see that rate rise further.
We live in a time of great change. The urgency of what arrives through the mail is steadily decreasing as faster means of communication fill that gap. Now it is a matter of industry and the public adjusting to a new reality !
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