Rural customers worry either option will hurt them
Rural letter carrier Roger Mc-Donald missed driving his 150mile route outside Scottsbluff in western Nebraska earlier this year. He was injured in a serious car accident that kept him from mail delivery for three months. He had an appointment scheduled with the doctor who rebuilt his right hand on May 8, so he decided to do a dry run the day before in case he was cleared to return.
As the pavement turned to gravel on Crow Road, McDonald said long distances, low population density and poor infrastructure make rural delivery difficult and unprofitable. His point was soon proven. Among the route’s first stops are two mailboxes separated by a dilapidated bridge over an irrigation canal. Before the bridge was closed, it was a 50-yard trip between them, Mc-Donald said at the first mailbox. He then drove nearly three miles to reach the second.
