Monte Sereno Post Office on Shorter Hours

With less customers sending paper correspondence, post offices throughout the Bay Area are announcing shortened store hours set to take effect next month.

Customers at 61 post offices in the Bay-Valley District—which spans six Bay Area counties—will find the new hours on post office doors starting this past weekend, United States Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz said.

Locally, the post office in Monte Sereno, located at 18041 Saratoga Los Gatos Road, will be open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday; closed on the weekend.

However, the , located at 101 So. Santa Cruz Ave., will be open 8:45 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday; and closed on Sunday.

Most of the affected post offices will open 30 minutes to an hour later than they do now, while 10 post offices will close a half-hour to an hour earlier, he said.

Ruiz said the new hours, which are set to take effect Feb. 20, reflect foot traffic trends at each of the offices.

"At least 30 to 35 percent of all our business transactions are taking place online ... that cuts into the overall traffic that we see in post offices—that's why we're seeing less foot traffic at certain times of day," he said.

Marketing studies conducted throughout the postal district showed that most customers don't arrive until after 9 a.m., with the biggest rush of activity between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Ruiz said the new hours won't result in job losses and that postal workers will simply shift their schedules to follow the new hours.

Customers can find their post office's current hours online at usps.com, but new store hours will not be updated online until Feb. 20.

—Bay City News Service