The U.S. postmaster general told an audience of area business people yesterday that the city has the na
tion's most improved mail service over the past three months.
Marvin Runyon, speaking at a Baltimore Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, said Baltimore's mail delivery, considered dismal just a few months ago, has improved considerably.
For every 100 pieces of mail delivered here, he said, 77 of them were delivered on time.
Last year at this time, only 66 pieces of mail out of 100 were delivered on time.
Although the postmaster general claimed that Baltimore's improvements led the nation, his staff was unable to provide national statistics or results from other cities to compare with the local numbers. They said those numbers won't be available for several days.
One aide, however, later said the Baltimore success rate still probably lags behind the national average, which was at 84 pieces of mail out of 100 during the last quarter of this year.
Mr. Runyon credited the improvement in service to getting "back to basics," by increasing staff and installing "Baltimore Only" mailboxes.
An audit of postal service done by the agency that was made public at the end of September ranked Baltimore dead last in terms of service nationally.
After a brief speech, in which Mr. Runyon boasted about more efficient service and new technology at the post office, he got an unsolicited laugh from the group when a man asked for his office address.
"I don't know my ZIP code," said the postmaster general, who oversees the delivery of 17 billion pieces of mail.
From the audience, an anxious Postal Service aide quickly shouted out the proper one.