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Bpost to remove 3,000 red postboxes by March
Bpost will remove 3,000 of its red postboxes from towns around Belgium by next spring - because they are not being used enough.
A Bpost spokeswoman said the number of boxes dotted around Belgium - 13,000 - had not changed since 2004, but the volume of letters sent has fallen by 60% over the same period.
"A quarter of our red mailboxes have fewer than six letters in them on an average day," the spokeswoman added.
About a quarter of postboxes are to be dug up and removed - but they are not necessarily the least used. Under its management contract, the post office is required to keep a box every 500 metres in urban areas and every 1.5km elsewhere - regardless of how much it is used.
Bpost said 10,000 mailboxes was still a substantial number and that customers can also drop off mail at branches. People with reduced mobility can also ask for their postman or woman to pick up a letter from them during their regular delivery.
Comments
When i read articles like this, I feel as though I am in the United States, 25 years ago.
For many things Belgium copies the United States and the United Kingdom.
For those who are handicapped, I hope that the post people allow handicapped people to buy stamps and also take the stamped envelope or parcel to the post office for them.