23 March 2009 - New Zealand Post announced today that from Saturday 18 April 2009 it would collect mail from street posting boxes five days a week instead of the current six.

Mail from 4,800 street posting boxes nationwide is currently collected on Saturday or Sunday. From 18 April, general mail posted in a street posting box over the weekend will be collected on Monday.

New Zealand Post's Chief Executive Postal Services Peter Fenton said the move reflected changes in usage of street posting boxes. "Over time there's been a significant falloff in the amount of general mail posted over the weekend. Around 95 per cent of mail posted in street posting boxes is now sent Monday to Friday," he said.

Mr Fenton said the overall amount of mail collected from street posting boxes was also falling. "Compared to last year we are collecting 13% less mail from street posting boxes. "Collecting mail from thousands of posting boxes and sorting it during the weekend is an expensive process.

It's a fixed cost that doesn't fall as mail volumes fall," he said. In the current economic environment it was important to review which services were relevant to customers, said Mr Fenton. He stressed that the change does not affect mail delivery to households or businesses.

"We are not making any changes to the days of the week mail is delivered to our customers." In the United Kingdom Royal Mail stopped weekend clearances of street posting boxes 18 months ago due to similar changes in mailing habits.