Latest from Norway is that delivering mail every other day is still not viable, so now they are suggesting that we should get our mail delivered to us anymore, but pick it up ourselves.
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Thats awful 
you would think they maintain atleast a weekly service ?
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I donât think that would help financially nearly as much as laying off the delivery staff nationwide entirely.
Mmm - It would cut off those less mobile/unwell though
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Then what is the use of post office and postpersons? 
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then how will they inform you that you have mail to go and collect it !? they still have to come ⌠also if this will happen I will imagine the lines at the post offices x_x
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People with Post Office boxes are not notified if they have mail, they go to the Post Office when they can. I infer that the volume of letters/cards in Norway is low enough that most people are not that concerned.
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In the Netherlands there is an app in which you can see where your parcels are and if mail is coming your way. So it could be used to send out a âyouâve got mail!â notification.
And to prevent lines, they can offer postboxes to people who receive a lot of mail or want to have a postbox.
I donât know how things are in other countries, but I rarely receive mail apart from penpals and postcrossing. I think only from the tax administration, local government (local taxes) and when we have to vote (voting pass). So for most it will mean they rarely have to go and pick up mail.
We currently have a delivery 5 days a week. But that is not the case in every country. My in-laws have a postbox, just like almost everyone in their area. So when they go out for groceries, they pick up the mail too!
In the Netherlands, people with a postbox can subsribe to a service that will let them know if they have mail.
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Key word: suggesting.
I read the article yesterday, and I am not worried this is something that will happen next week or next month. Not even next year. Remember that Posten Norge (Norwegian mail service) is state owned, they have an obligation to deliver our mail, and any changes to this needs to be voted on in the parliament.
In Postloven (the Postal Act) it is stated that Posten are obliged to deliver mail every second day. To change that, the Parliament would have to change the law, which is not something that happens over night.
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One of the suggestions is that the mail carriers would not deliver to everyone, but keep deliver to elderly and other people who donât use electronic services.
Everyone in Norway have the possibility to have an electronic mailbox, where mail we used to received by paper years ago (bills, information letters from government or state companies, etc.) go. We get notified by text message to our phone or by email when we have received mail in our digital mailbox and have to log in with security options.
That is one of the things the commission would have to figure out. The fact that we get little mail (although our 3 person household has something in the mailbox at least once a week, not counting Postcrossing) makes the checking if youâve got something a pain if youâre not notified. But we do have shared services for a lot of state agencies, so I think if you add your phone number to one of them, the others can see it too.
As for lines at the post office ⌠we donât actually have post offices in Norway outside Oslo (possibly still one in Svalbard), we would have to pick it up at a postal counter at a local store. Mine is at a shopping mall that I pass twice a day, but never go into because itâs such a long wait to the next buss in the afternoon, and not open in the morning.
Iâm not saying I think itâs a disaster, I personally pretty much never get mail. However, it would make Postcrossing far to big a pain the ⌠to continue. Itâs already more than enough hassle to get cards out. And besides, my love affair with mail started as a child when picking it up every day, checking to see if there was something for me. Wouldnât be the same anymore.
As for it not happening over night, obviously not. But we all know something will happen. Theyâve been trying to shut themselves down for years.
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Itâs not the same today as it used to be 20 years ago. I also remember the excitement of checking the mailbox everyday. Itâs not the same now, checking every second day. Even though we (mostly I in my household) get mail most of the times they deliver. The disappointment when the mailbox is empty and I have to wait two days until next deliverâŚ
But then again, nothing else in the world is the same as it used to be either. I choose to see the world and everything in it as something that is in constant change. Some changes are good, some are not so good. But unless we can change what we donât like, we have the option to choose how we look at it, and try to find something good in the situation nonetheless.
Yes, I also know something will happen. I did not mean to be ignorant of the suggestion or your comment about it. Sorry if my comment came across like that.
I also donât think itâs fair that so much of the tax payers money goes to subsidise something that is only important for a few of us. I bet most people in this country are happy to receive all their mail in their digital mailbox (or check their PO box once a week in the local âPost i butikkâ). Those money could be spent on way more important things, in my honest opinion.
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We should remember digital isnât free - Data centres are costly and use huge amounts of expensive and damaging energy.
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Do you not receive parcels via post in Norway? Is there another company? What do people do about online shopping?
In Australia, I get an email notification when there is mail in my post box.
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The good part is youâd at least get your mail if you visit your postal counter & youâve been informed about the possible future course of action.
Recently, thereâs not been a postal delivery for over a month in the locality we reside. Upon visiting the concerned P.O twice in past one week, only got to know that the regular lady is on leave & itâs been temporarily off loaded to another post-worker. (We do not get our mail from th P.O if we visit it personally, unless you have a P.O.Box which is only available at major P.Oâs or your regular delivery staff is available at the desk)
Considering the volumes they handle, delivering non-registered mail is their last priority.
All said & done, [Norwegian Post Office considering NOT delivering mail] this could be the future across the globe & sincerely hoping that this (pen & paper) communication survives & thrives despite all odds. 
@borealis Thanks for sharing this. Have a good week ahead & enjoy the mail while itâs still delivered at your door step 
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Some parcels are delivered in our mailbox, others have to be picked up in the store. Thereâs mainly two companies delivering parcels to private households (Posten Norge and Postnord. DHL also delivers but in much smaller scale). Depending on which company the sender used and the size and type of the parcel, it comes either in the mailbox/mail deliverer comes to our door (with Posten Norge), or we get a message about having to pick it up and which store to pick it up in (both with Posten and Postnord).
Iâve probably forgotten about a company or some routine, or it might be slightly different in the cities. What I explained applies for me, living in a rural area outside of a small-ish town (16.000 people).
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The curse of not using emojis. My comment was simply meant as that.
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