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COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
1.4 per cent from 1992. With the growth in population and the increase in business activities in the territory, the range and level of services provided by the Post Office have also multiplied.
The Speedpost service, which provides a door-to-door collection and delivery service for customers sending time-sensitive documents, samples or merchandise, continued to grow. One of the pioneers of this service, the Post Office handled 4.3 million items in 1993, an increase of 7.5 per cent over 1992. This makes the Hong Kong Post Office the third largest exporter of Speedpost in the world, after the United States Postal Service and Japan. In the case of incoming traffic, Hong Kong ranked second in the world, after the United States Postal Service. The service is now available to 61 countries, including all of the territory's major trading partners.
A high-quality postal service has been an important factor in Hong Kong's development as a leading business, financial and industrial centre. The Post Office provides two mail deliveries each weekday to commercial and industrial areas and one delivery to residential
areas.
In April, the Post Office announced its performance pledges. Performance standards and targets were set for counter, delivery and Speedpost services. Most local letters are delivered within one working day after collection from a posting box or over post office counters. Bulk postings and second class mail take slightly longer. Air mail to overseas destinations is usually despatched within 24 hours of posting. Air mail arriving from overseas is normally delivered by the next working day.
During the year, Mong Kok Post Office and Sai Wan Ho Post Office moved to larger premises to provide improved facilities to cope with the rising postal demands in those districts. The counter section of Tai Po Post Office was also relocated, to release more space for the expansion of the postal delivery team serving Tai Po District. To make way for developments, Kwai Fong Post Office, The Peak Post Office and Pok Fu Lam Post Office were also relocated. For the same reason, Ma Tau Wai Post Office and Tsuen Wing Street Post Office were replaced by To Kwa Wan Post Office and Texaco Road Post Office, respectively. In addition, one new post office at Lee On Estate in Ma On Shan was opened - bringing the total number of post offices in the territory to 123.
To lower operating costs and enhance efficiency, the Post Office maintained its efforts to automate its mail-handling process. The Mechanised Letter Sorting System, introduced in mid-1990, was extended, with an order placed during the year for two additional letter sorting machines, for the Sha Tin Central Post Office and the Tuen Mun Central Post Office.
The introduction of the new electronic stamp vending machines at 10 major post offices in 1992 has proved to be a success. Another 13 post offices were provided with the new machines in 1993. In addition, six electronic stamp vending machines were installed at self-service suites located at Kowloon-Canton Railway stations and other focal points, providing greater convenience to the public. More will be ordered for installation at other post offices in the coming years.
Overall, 100 electronic scales, which can automatically calculate the postage of the mail item according to its weight and destination, were provided at the 15 busiest post offices during the year, replacing the mechanical letter scales. They are useful in reducing counter transaction time and improving accuracy. Additional scales will be purchased over the next few years, with a view to replacing all mechanical letter scales.