San Rafael residents and businesses say recent postal route changes have severed years-long relationships with their letter carriers and resulted in unreliable mail delivery.
On Aug. 14, the U.S. Postal Service eliminated five of San Rafael’s 75 postal routes and changed about half of the remaining routes, said James Wigdel, a postal service spokesman. No carriers lost their jobs.
For a few years, the postal service has been changing routes nationwide for cost savings and efficiency, officials said. In addition to the recent San Rafael changes, several of Novato’s approximately 60 routes were adjusted at the end of July, and managers eliminated two of Mill Valley’s 34 routes, Wigdel said.
Two weeks after the changes took effect in San Rafael, carriers and customers were still reeling.