Review of Delivery Services Provided Arizona and Other High Growth Areas

GAO was requested to: (1) identify new town developments in Arizona and other high growth areas where residents are being denied home mail delivery service, and (2) evaluate the reasonableness of the Postal Service's criteria for denying delivery service to those locations. The extent to which other areas of the country are experiencing delays in obtaining delivery services was not determined.

The requirements for establishing carrier routes differ for city and rural areas. The most significant requirements for establishing city routes include: (1) a population of 2,500 or more within the area being served; (2) improvement of 50 percent of the building lots; (3) paved or improved streets to permit travel of post office vehicles; (4) and display of street signs and house numbers. Once city delivery is established, extensions of this service into adjacent areas are provided when these requirements, except population, are met. GAO identified six developments in Arizona which actively sought upgraded delivery services but had not received it. Local postal officials have the responsibility for initiating delivery services and also operating in a financially responsible manner. In some instances, local officials delay initiation of new delivery services in favor of keeping delivery costs to a minimum.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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