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TNT looks to doorstep post deliveries
Robert Lea13.02.09
Private sector posties could be on the streets of London within two years.
Dutch postal giant TNT says it is handling so much London mail it could make commercial sense to have its own doorstep delivery force in the capital by 2011. Such a move would be another blow to the Royal Mail.
TNT says it handles 20 per cent of all mail in London after winning accounts for organisations including BT, Barclays and Sky, as well as working for a number of councils and hospitals - with fast growth since the postal system was opened up to competition.
TNT and other private sector rivals such as UK Mail currently use Royal Mail postal staff for the "final mile" doorstep delivery - and pay for the service.
But now TNT says it is collecting and sorting so much mail from smaller businesses it is considering creating its own force of posties in the capital.
"If the market conditions are right and the regulatory environment is right then it makes sense," said UK commercial director Charles Neilson.
