“The Post Office is coming to meet you. »
It’s written in very big letters on the yellow truck. Indeed, the public company, through the voice of its General Public and Digital Director of La Poste, Nathalie Collin, announces West France the deployment, from the end of April, of five itinerant post office trucks which will travel through the countryside of France. The system, co-financed by the Banque des Territoires, will be tested for a year in five rural departments of France – half a day each week per municipality. “We want to stay and invest in the territories”,
justifies Nathalie Collin.
Read also: Meal delivery could become “the primary activity of postmen” according to La Poste
In its obligations, La Poste must in fact provide 90% of the French population with a postal presence within five kilometers or twenty minutes by car. At the national level, the objective has been largely achieved, at 97%, but with it there are strong departmental disparities. If the Ile-de-France territories in the inner suburbs (Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne) but also some overseas (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion) reach 100%, others are further away. Gers shows 81.9% of the objective, Lozère 88%, Meuse 89.2%, Ardennes 89.5% and Haute-Marne, 89.6%. For the test, two of these five departments will be concerned (Gers and Haute-Marne) to which are added Orne, Creuse and Jura (list of municipalities concerned at the end of the article*).
“In total, these five itinerant trucks will settle in forty different municipalities, which represents 13,000 inhabitants,”
explains Nathalie Collin, who details the operation and the services offered.
To better reach isolated territories in France, are you launching a new initiative?
We are launching five mobile post office trucks in five departments. As part of a one-year experiment, they will travel the roads of Orne, Creuse and Haute-Marne, from April 23, and those of Gers and Jura, from April 27 . We are inaugurating the system this Friday, April 19 in Champosoult, a village of around a hundred inhabitants south of Vimoutiers, in Orne.
Where does this idea come from?
We had it with the Banque des Territoires, which financed it with us. The total budget is one million euros. The objective is to strengthen our presence in the territories. Our obligation at La Poste is that 90% of the population live within five kilometers or twenty minutes by car of a postal point. At the national level, we reach 97%, but with disparities. In Orne, for example, we are at 91.3%. But for some citizens, these figures are theoretical and they feel isolated. There are many villages where access to public services is very difficult. With this experiment, we want to reinvest these places in a mobile way.
There will be the same services as in a post office but also those of France Services (Taxes, Health insurance, Family allowances, point-justice, France Travail, France Rénov, etc.)
But why not reopen offices that you have closed?
Because creating a post office or even installing a postman-countier (who divides his time between the two activities) in villages of a few dozen or hundreds of inhabitants does not make sense. There would never be enough flow.
Hence the idea of trucks…
This is the revival of an old La Poste concept. Indeed, in the 1960s and 1970s, the La Poste van – the HY yellow Citroën — went to meet the French at their workplaces, or in the summer at the beach, at the campsite… Today, it is back in fashion with other types of businesses (butchers, bakeries, etc.) and services which re-establish itinerant trucks to open up the countryside.
You had already tried the experience in 2018, notably with a Poste Truck for a month. Didn’t it work?
Yes, indeed, some very local and isolated initiatives have emerged in recent years. But the experiment that we are launching today is on a larger scale, in several departments, over a longer period and with more services offered.
What will these trucks look like?
They are beautiful and all yellow (laughs), with an awning open to the outside and fully equipped like a normal office. They measure 9 m² and the postman will receive the customer inside. It is written on it: “The Post Office is coming to meet you. »
What services will be available?
The same as in a post office. In particular, you will be able to buy postal products, postage and post letters and parcels, order beautiful stamps, access mobile phone offers, subscribe to senior services (remote assistance, meals at home), carry out banking transactions for the Bank’s customers. postage or make an appointment with a bank or professional advisor. We can print, scan; and pay by credit card or cash. They will also be outposts of France Services.
That’s to say ?
Today there are many online procedures for which residents are not equipped. And 30% of French people give up their rights. We will support the first digital gestures and direct you to the France Services area where there are ten other partners (Taxes, Health Insurance, Family Allowances, Point-Justice, France Travail, France Rénov, etc.).
In Creuse, we will also test an ATM in the truck. There will be two postal workers instead of one
But we won’t be able to withdraw money?
It is obviously very complicated to install ticket machines in trucks in terms of equipment and also security, but we decided to test it anyway in a truck, the one that will circulate in the Creuse. It’s a test within a test, which is expensive because, beyond the distributor, we need two postal workers instead of one, for security. But we want this experiment.
Read also: Paris 2024. Eiffel Tower, Seine, heart: here is the official stamp of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
What will be the criteria for evaluating the success of the system in one year?
We will carry out public surveys to assess citizens’ perceptions of the proximity of public services. We will also measure the satisfaction of elected officials, but we already know that it will be appreciated. Also, we will look at the use of our services. If no one comes, there’s no point.
And not the turnover?
No, it’s a real public service project, which will not generate any margin, we already know that.
Are you optimistic about the success of this system?
I hope it will succeed and I believe it will. But again, the principle will be to have people coming in the truck. If they just look at it, then there was no need. We will have failed but it doesn’t matter because we will have tried. Afterwards, each truck will perhaps have a different assessment and we will adapt the zones.
What if it needed to be developed?
We will do it. And we will discuss with different stakeholders to finance the projects, particularly in conjunction with local elected officials, whose local services are a concern.
How many villages and people will these five trucks affect?
In total, these five itinerant trucks will set up in forty different municipalities, which represents 13,000 inhabitants. These are small villages. In Orne, for example, there will be nine with 55 to 228 inhabitants, where the truck will stop for half a day (between two and three hours depending on the location, read the details for Orne at the bottom of the article) per week from Tuesday to Saturday noon.
Exactly what will be the times?
Each truck will stay approximately three hours depending on the location. In Champosoult, where we are launching this system this Friday, it will be on Wednesday afternoon.
What is the coverage of La Poste in Orne today?
The department has 385 municipalities and 280,000 inhabitants. La Poste has 123 contact points including 34 offices, 44 La Poste Relais at merchants, 45 municipal agencies and 3 Poste France Services. Nearly 2,400 customers come to these points in Orne every day.
We are a company with a mission which must be able to be as close as possible to the French
13,000 inhabitants affected in total may not seem like much. Is this voluntarism?
We want to stay and invest in the territories. We are a company with a mission which must be able to be as close as possible to the French with this type of initiative and also ultra-efficient, for example in digital with very sophisticated artificial intelligence services. You see it as we do, mail is collapsing, digital technology is progressing. Let’s invent new models that are useful to everyone.
Read also: Postmen’s clothing will equip market gardening workers at EsatCo in Paimpol
Who will hold these trucks? Are they volunteer postal workers?
Yes, they are all volunteer postal workers, some are mail carriers. We received them at La Poste headquarters, they are extremely enthusiastic to participate in a new adventure, which shows that the company is innovating in a context of mail attrition. They all love human contact, but they probably even more. In Orne, for example, it will be Christine and Angélique, who will take turns.
They are two mail carriers. How many do you have in total today?
We developed this profession after Covid. Today, we have 1,600. We adapt to uses. Furthermore, I am in favor of pooling in small communities: La Poste can support the last business that is about to close by offering our services; she can bring these to town halls… We must not continue to keep people away from public service.
These trucks will not be electric…
No, we would have liked, because it is a strong commitment from La Poste, but it was impossible on this size and with the weight of the on-board equipment. On the other hand, they will have solar panels on the roof.
* Days, times and places of passage of the itinerant truck in Orne
Tuesday: Ménil-Hubert-en-Exmes, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and La Fresnaie-Fayel, from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday: Aubry-le-Panthou, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Champosoult, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday: Neuville-sur-Touques, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Orgères, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: Croisilles, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Mont-Ormel, 1:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Saturday: Le Sap-Andre, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The municipalities concerned in the other departments
– Department of Creuse: Vareilles; Saint-Priest-la-Plaine; Peyrat-la-Nonière; Saint-Frion; Toulx-Sainte-Croix; Nouhant; Saint-Pierre-Bellevue; Fransèches; La Saunière
– Department of Haute-Marne: Heuilley-le-Grand; Saint-Maurice; Noidant-le-Rocheux; Marac; Leuchey
– Department of Gers: Pessoulens; Cash; Saint-Sauvy; Pessan; Le Brouilh-Monbert; Saint-Jean-le-Comtal; Gimbrède; Castéra-Lectourois; Roquelaure
– Department of Jura: Column; Château-Chalon; The star ; Etival; Mesnois; La Chailleuse; Frébuans; Cressia
