The United States Postal Service (USPS) is considering closing the Tufts University Post Office located at 470 Boston Ave. due to low activity, Dennis Tarmey, a communications specialist for the USPS Greater Boston District, said.
The Tufts USPS branch, next to Brown and Brew cafe in Curtis Hall, is one of over 3,656 post offices across the country, including 31 in the greater Boston area, that USPS will review for closure in the next four months, according to Tarmey.
The post office will come under consideration for closure based on the branch's revenue intake and proximity to other USPS offices, among other factors, Tarmey said.
The USPS has had to make hard decisions in the past few years because there has been a significant decrease in mail volume.
"We have to look at these things seriously. We're struggling," Tarmey said.
Financial data on the post office will not be available until USPS' preliminary study is completed in early October.
The rent for the local branch comes cheaply, Tarmey noted: USPS pays $1 to Tufts in rent each year.
USPS has placed other university post offices on the list, including post offices located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Boston College.
Last year, the USPS shut down the post office at Boston University after failed negotiations to reduce costs, according to Tarmey.
The Greater Boston District of USPS will conduct a thorough investigation of the post office's revenue intake, individual expenses and operational costs, according to Tarmey.
The USPS will also collect community input before the Greater Boston District manager makes the official decision of whether to close the post office in Jan. 2012, Tarmey said.
Plans to solicit feedback include placing questionnaires for customers in the Post Office (PO) boxes at the Tufts post office as well as at the counter, Tarmey noted.
The USPS will also hold a community meeting for local residents to share their opinions in the late fall.
Tarmey said it is not certain that the Tufts branch will be among those forced to close.
If USPS does decide to close the post office, however, they will post a notice 60 days prior to closing, he added.
Other nearby USPS offices include the West Somerville Post Office, the West Medford Post Office and the Medford Post Office.
Closing the post office would increase the workload for Tufts Mail Services, Ron Drauschke, supervisor of Mail Services, said.
"I don't think it'd be a good idea for the Post Office to shut down," he said.
Mail Services, which currently relies on the Tufts post office branch to purchase stamps and send specially handled packages, would instead have to go to Medford Square during the school year and to West Medford during summer months for such services.
Drauschke added that Mail Services would work to fill the gap created by the departure of the Tufts post office by offering increased shipping for students.
"We'll try to accommodate students as much as we can," he said.
Paul Kilduff, general president of Boston Metro American Postal Workers Union, said that closing the post office would drive customers to companies such as FedEx or UPS.
"We're going to actively do our best to stop this from closing," he said.
He added that it would negatively affect students, who typically do not have access to cars.
Tufts senior Michael Bai, who uses the post office twice a week to mail textbooks, agreed.
"It would be a major inconvenience if you don't have a car," Bai, said. "For my needs it would be nice to have a post office on campus."
