In recent years, the volume of letters in Norway has fallen enormously, explains Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård. In January this year, he set up a fast-working committee to look at how the postal service should look in the future. NECESSARY: Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård says it is necessary to look at how the postal service will look in the future. Photo: Inger Kristine Lee / news The report came out today which recommends that letters should be delivered to serviced post offices, such as picked up in shops, instead of in the post box. – The fall in the volume of letters in recent years has been extremely large, which means that the cost per remaining letter that is sent will be very high, says Nygård. He adds: – Postal services are an important pillar of Norwegian society, but digitization has meant that we send less and less traditional mail, says Nygård. This is what the report says. The Committee’s recommendations are based on developments in the postal market and the challenges presented by the authorities, players in the postal market and various user groups. The committee believes that sustainable postal services for the future should be adapted to society’s development and changing needs, while the facility ensures the best possible utilization of society’s resources now and in the future. A future solution will ensure that all citizens, regardless of geography, functional ability and digital competence, still receive equal postal services. The majority of the committee proposes that letters should, as a general rule, be delivered to serviced post offices. Those who need it should still have the option of mailbox delivery once a week. Postal users who need delivery to a postbox must be able to choose it themselves in a simple way through “own message”. Packages subject to delivery must be delivered to serviced post offices. Newspapers must still be delivered to letterboxes at least three days a week. The committee’s majority proposes that the state should not finance a so-called doorstep service, where selected groups of mail recipients receive mail and an information letter delivered to their door once a week, as part of the universally accessible postal service. You can read the report in its entirety on the Government’s website. I think it’s a bad idea. Out on the street, people are unimpressed by what they hear. Arne Blingsli has gathered several acquaintances around the café table in Brønnøysund. They all agree on what they think of the proposal: thumbs down. – I think it is bad enough as it is today. Now we only get mail one or two days a week, and some days I think the way to the mailbox is long enough. NOT SATISFIED: The three friends Hallstein Johnsen, Arne Hansen and Arne Blingsli don’t think anything of the new proposal Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news Namesake Arne Hansen adds: – I’m not online and I don’t want digital mail. I am lucky enough to still receive physical letters, and will continue to do so. I am completely dependent on that. The group of friends around the table will, according to the committee, be able to choose to continue with letters in the letterbox at home. But it’s once a week. The committee has called it “self-reporting”, and writes that they will make arrangements for this to be something that can be easily solved for those who want it. But it is not well received by the gang in Brønnøysund. – I want my mail in the mailbox. I will be disappointed. If the weather is bad, I have to take a taxi down to town to collect letters, says Liv Arnhild Lind. Will give postmen new tasks With proposals to reduce the obligation to deliver letters, there will no longer be as great a need for traditional mail delivery to all letterboxes. Therefore, the committee has also considered whether the postmen should be given new tasks. Among other things, the committee has considered whether Posten and KS’ trial project “On the doorstep” should become a permanent scheme, and whether there is potential in the scheme to include more services. The majority in the committee want ordinary people to no longer receive letters directly in the letterbox, but that they must be picked up at a pick-up point, such as post in a shop. Photo: Stine Gabrielsen – We recommend that Norway still have a solid postal system, so that the citizens are ensured that they can both send and receive mail throughout the country, says committee leader Elisabeth Aarsæther. The committee points out that it is important to have a good postal system, and that being able to send and receive mail all over the country is also about preparedness, and that it is important in a very troubled time. – However, we believe that it is high time to change the state’s use of both money and regulation in order to secure both current and future needs, and contribute to more actors being able to offer services, says Aarsæther. The report has now been sent for consultation. Published 16.12.2024, at 18.25
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