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09.04.2021
Taking into account the restrictions on the provision of on-site services, which remain in place even after the lifting of the state of emergency from the 7th of April 2021, part of ordinary items from a number of post offices are redirected for collection from the nearest parcel lockers in the areas where it is possible and the capacity of the existing parcel lockers allows it. At the same time the installation of parcel lockers for delivery of items continues next to the busiest post offices or in their premises, and it is planned that this weekend a parcel locker will be installed next to Riga post office No. 57 and next week – at two more post offices.
As security requirements set forth that 15 square metres of premises must be ensured per customer receiving service on site and therefore Latvijas Pasts has had to close several dozens of service cash register systems at several dozens of post offices, some ordinary – unregistered or uninsured – postal items are redirected for collection from parcel lockers in the areas where the capacity of the existing parcel lockers located in the vicinity of post offices allows it. Customers who have indicated the correct mobile phone number on the item will be informed about the possibility to collect their item from a particular parcel locker by means of text messages.
As the amount of the services provided by the parcel lockers used at Latvijas Pasts has tripled in the first months of 2021, it is not possible to place the items addressed for receipt at post offices and paid for accordingly in all parcel lockers, but in some areas such a solution has been found. Ordinary small items are redirected for pick-up from parcel lockers from Riga post office No. 57 at 2 Prūšu Street to the parcel lockers at the shopping centre Akropole at 257 Maskavas Street and the shopping centre Zoom at 400 Maskavas Street, from Riga post office No. 83 at 1a Dzirciema Street to the parcel locker at the shopping centre Olimpia at 5 Āzenes Street and from the temporary premises of Majori post office at 16 Strēlnieku prospekts to the parcel locker at the shopping centre Rimi at 22 Viestura Street, Lielupe.
At the same time the process of installing the parcel lockers for delivery of items continues next to the busiest post offices of Riga and other cities or in their premises, and it is expected that at the end of this week such a parcel locker will be placed at the shopping centre Mego at 2 Prūšu Street, where Riga post office No. 57 operates. Since Riga post office No. 57 and Riga post office No. 83, where the parcel delivery locker has now been available 24 hours a day for several weeks, are among the post offices with the largest item volumes, part of the item flow will continue to be redirected to parcel lockers outside these post offices in order to manage to deliver all inbound items arriving there and to reduce the need for visiting the post office.
Taking into account the need to deliver as many items as possible, the parcel lockers located at post offices will initially be intended only for the pick-up of items – the item dispatch function will be activated as soon as the item delivery flow at the post offices becomes more homogeneous. In order to ensure the smoothest possible circulation of items at the post offices, we encourage customers to collect items from parcel lockers as soon as possible so that other customers can receive their items too.
As COVID-19 continues to spread, the negative effects of the virus have a significant impact on both the flow of inbound items and the provision of services at post offices. The flow of international items is very uneven, with a large volume of items from abroad often incoming at the same time, which arrive at the post offices after processing in the sorting centre of Latvijas Pasts and which have to be delivered to a large number of customers simultaneously. At the same time the possibilities for serving customers at post offices are decreasing: the number of people allowed to be served on site and, consequently, the number of cash register systems has been reduced at several dozens of post offices due to the security requirements.
The total number of Latvijas Pasts parcel lockers after the installation of the 18 item delivery lockers will amount to 80, and additional procurement has been announced for another 120 new parcel lockers.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with about 3,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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