Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Royal Mail: dealing another (small) blow to social cohesion

I was saddened yesterday to hear that the Royal Mail have closed five of the seven remaining postbus routes in the Highlands following a failure to agree a subsidy from the local authority.

More than twenty years ago, when I applied to join the Civil Service through their trainee accountant scheme, they had clearly read my application form and, noting my declared interest in transport, asked me about Highland postbuses. Naturally, being a Londoner, I knew virtually nothing on the subject, except that they were, presumably, a good thing.

It wasn't a great interview, culminating in the question, "So why do you want to be an accountant?", my answer to which was, "I'm not absolutely certain.". It probably sealed my fate but, fortunately, my test score was so good that they decided to offer me a generalist Executive Officer position anyway.

The postbus network in one of the country's more remote corners has been a crucial link for a string of isolated communities, especially for the elderly and those rural dwellers unable to drive for whatever reason. And yes, subsidy is required, given the impracticality of running a regular bus.

However, there is a limit, and the Royal Mail's insistence on trebling the level of subsidy has proved too much, hence the loss of five routes. A spokesman for the Royal Mail asserted that providing the postbus service was not part of their core duty of delivering the post, and that is exactly the attitude that says all that needs to be said about the loss of a sense of community responsibility.

The Royal Mail still need to collect post from, and deliver to, these communities. To do that, they need a small van, which doubtless runs according to a schedule. How much extra cost can there be to tell people what that schedule is and pick up the occasional passenger? One might almost suspect that they have a long term plan to withdraw from such places...

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