You live a mailbox when you see one . ( They ’re those gamey hunks of metal run out to the pavement with the creaky roll that goreeeeaaaaaallllkwhen you draw them candid . ) But what about the dark - green boxes that do n’t have any slots to accept mail ?
call postal relay corner , these work as storage container for mail carriers as they make their rounds . Carriers can refill their bag on the go , removing the motive to constantly render to the distribution center ( or conduct everything at once ) . They are most prevalent in city where USPS worker make delivery on base , and the boxes are either filled by the carrier themselves or postal workers in trucks who make larger legal transfer runs .
Ideally , these relay race boxes are put at the most commodious potential locations along carriers ’ route . A 1992 study in theAmerican Journal of Mathematical and Management Sciencestitled “ place Postal Relay Boxes Using a Set Covering Algorithm ” [ PDF ] details the phone number - crunching that goes into this . Using data from Canadian mail routes , the researchers took into account things like maximum mailbag exercising weight ( 35 pounds ) , average post intensity ( depending on day ) , and the number of mail carriers who can utilise each electrical relay boxful at once . The algorithm result in a lower number of needed relay boxes , which cut down on cost .
You may have noticed that a gullible relay boxwood that was present on your corner , say , ten class ago may no longer be there . As the cyberspace further reduces the demand for paper chain armor , carrier encumbrance have been getting idle , accounting for fewer electrical relay boxes . When Gothamistasked a USPS representativeabout the disappearing boxes , they confirmed that they were being removed “ if they were no longer needed . ” The repp was also tight - lipped about the very nature of the electrical relay boxes , telling Gothamist ’s Jen Carlson , “ [ They ] are for official postal function only . Any further information regarding them is proprietary . "
This reticence was likely due to security concern . According to the Postal Inspection Service ’s law enforcement template , “ relay box can contain big quantity of post in grey-headed sacks that thieves cart off look for checks and credit add-in . ” It goes without read , but please leave the relay boxes alone ; they ’re just trying to aid .
