Collapse to view only § 3691. Establishment of modern service standards
§ 3691. Establishment of modern service standards
(a)Authority Generally.—Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Postal Service shall, in consultation with the Postal Regulatory Commission, by regulation establish (and may from time to time thereafter by regulation revise) a set of service standards for market-dominant products.
(b)Objectives.—
(1)In general.—Such standards shall be designed to achieve the following objectives:
(A) To enhance the value of postal services to both senders and recipients.
(B) To preserve regular and effective access to postal services in all communities, including those in rural areas or where post offices are not self-sustaining.
(C) To reasonably assure Postal Service customers delivery reliability, speed and frequency consistent with reasonable rates and best business practices.
(D) To provide a system of objective external performance measurements for each market-dominant product as a basis for measurement of Postal Service performance.
(2) Implementation of performance measurements.—With respect to paragraph (1)(D), with the approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission an internal measurement system may be implemented instead of an external measurement system.
(c)Factors.—In establishing or revising such standards, the Postal Service shall take into account—
(1) the actual level of service that Postal Service customers receive under any service guidelines previously established by the Postal Service or service standards established under this section;
(2) the degree of customer satisfaction with Postal Service performance in the acceptance, processing and delivery of mail;
(3) the needs of Postal Service customers, including those with physical impairments;
(4) mail volume and revenues projected for future years;
(5) the projected growth in the number of addresses the Postal Service will be required to serve in future years;
(6) the current and projected future cost of serving Postal Service customers;
(7) the effect of changes in technology, demographics, and population distribution on the efficient and reliable operation of the postal delivery system; and
(8) the policies of this title and such other factors as the Postal Service determines appropriate.
(d)Review.—The regulations promulgated pursuant to this section (and any revisions thereto), and any violations thereof, shall be subject to review upon complaint under sections 3662 and 3663.
(Added Pub. L. 109–435, title III, § 301, Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3218.)
§ 3692. Performance targets and transparency
(a)Performance Targets.—Each year, to ensure that mail service for postal customers meets the service standards for market-dominant products, established under section 3691, the Postal Service shall—
(1) not later than 60 days after the beginning of the fiscal year in which they will apply, establish and provide to the Postal Regulatory Commission reasonable targets for performance for each product; and
(2) provide the previous fiscal year’s performance targets in its Annual Compliance Report to the Postal Regulatory Commission for evaluation of compliance for each product.
(b)Postal Regulatory Commission Determination of Certain Performance Information.—Not later than 90 days after first receiving the performance targets under subsection (a)(1), the Postal Regulatory Commission shall provide to the Postal Service—
(1) requirements for the Postal Service to publish nationwide, regional, and local delivery area performance information in accordance with subsection (c)(2) that—
(A) are consistent with the organizational structure of the delivery network of the Postal Service (including at the District and Area organizational levels, or the functional equivalents, and, to the extent practicable, at the U.S. ZIP Code Area level);
(B) reflect the most granular geographic level of performance information appropriate for the Postal Service to publish; and
(C) includes time period segments for the published geographic levels to satisfy the publishing requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (C) of subsection (c)(2); and
(2) recommendations for any modifications to the Postal Service’s measurement systems necessary to measure and publish the performance information under subsection (c)(2) that the Postal Regulatory Commission deems relevant.
(c)Public Performance Dashboard.—
(1)In general.—The Postal Service shall develop and maintain a publicly available Website with an interactive web-tool that provides performance information for market-dominant products that is updated on a weekly basis.
(2)Performance information.—The performance information provided for a market-dominant product on the Website shall include—
(A) the type of market-dominant product;
(B) performance information for different geographic areas, consistent with subsection (b);
(C) performance information for different time periods, including annual, quarterly, monthly, and weekly segments;
(D) comparisons of performance information for market-dominant products to performance information for previous time periods to facilitate identification of performance trends; and
(E) the performance targets then in effect, and the performance targets for the previous fiscal year, as established under subsection (a)(1).
(3)Comprehensibility.—The Website shall include plain language descriptions of the elements required under paragraph (2) and information on the collection process, measurement methodology, completeness, accuracy, and validity of the performance information provided on the Website.
(4)Address search functionality.—The Website shall include functionality to enable a user to search for performance information by street address, ZIP Code, or post office box.
(5)Format.—The Postal Service shall make the performance information provided on the Website available—
(A) in a manner that—
(i) presents the information required under paragraph (2) on an interactive dashboard;
(ii) is searchable and may be sorted and filtered by the elements described in paragraph (2); and
(iii) to the extent practicable, enables any person or entity to download in bulk—(I) such performance information; and(II) the results of a search by the elements described in paragraph (2);
(B) under an “open license” which has the meaning given that term in section 3502 of title 44; and
(C) as an “open Government data asset” and in a “machine-readable” format which have the meaning given those terms in section 3502 of title 44.
(6)Consultation.—The Postal Service shall regularly consult with the Postal Regulatory Commission on appropriate features and information to be included on the Website.
(7)Public input.—The Postal Service shall—
(A) solicit public input on the design and implementation of the Website; and
(B) maintain a public feedback tool to ensure each feature of, and the information on, the Website is usable and understandable.
(8)Deadline.—The Postal Service shall implement and make available to the public (and make any subsequent changes in accordance with subsection (b)) the Website not later than 60 days from the date on which the Postal Service receives the requirements and recommendations from the Postal Regulatory Commission under subsection (b), and shall continuously update such information on the Website as required by subsection (b).
(9)Availability.—A link and plain language description of the Website shall be made available on any webpage where performance targets and measurements established under subsection (a)(1) are made available to the public.
(10)Reporting.—The Postal Service, the Postmaster General, or the Board, as applicable, shall reference the dashboard described in paragraph (5)(A)(i) in the Annual Performance Plan under section 2803, the Annual Performance Report under section 2804, and the Annual Report under section 2402.
(11)Definitions.—In this subsection—
(A)Performance information.—The term “performance information” means the objective external performance measurements established under section 3691(b)(1)(D).
(B)Website.—The term “Website” means the website described in paragraph (1).
(Added Pub. L. 117–108, title II, § 201(a), Apr. 6, 2022, 136 Stat. 1144.)