SIST-TP CEN/TR 15735:2008
(Main)Postal services - Quality of service - Distance to access points
Postal services - Quality of service - Distance to access points
This Technical Report takes into account the existing systems for measuring access to postal services and the targets that are already in use in member states. To get an understanding of the existing systems regarding population coverage, a questionnaire entitled “Methodology for the Measurement of Distance to postal Access Points” was circulated to postal operators and postal regulators (see Annex A).
Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Entfernung zum Zugangspunkt
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Qualité de l'accès aux services postaux
Poštne storitve - Kakovost storitve - Kakovost dostopa do poštnih storitev
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST-TP CEN/TR 15735:2008
01-december-2008
Poštne storitve - Kakovost storitve - Kakovost dostopa do poštnih storitev
Postal services - Quality of service - Distance to access points
Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Entfernung zum Zugangspunkt
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Qualité de l'accès aux services postaux
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 15735:2008
ICS:
03.240 Poštne storitve Postal services
SIST-TP CEN/TR 15735:2008 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
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SIST-TP CEN/TR 15735:2008
TECHNICAL REPORT
CEN/TR 15735
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
October 2008
ICS 03.240
English Version
Postal services - Quality of service - Distance to access points
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Qualité de l'accès Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Entfernung
aux services postaux zum Zugangspunkt
This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 16 March 2008. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 331.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36 B-1050 Brussels
© 2008 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 15735:2008: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
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Contents Page
Foreword.3
Introduction .4
1 Scope .5
2 Main issues concerning the measurement of network density.5
2.1 General.5
2.2 Legislation .10
2.3 Measurement.10
2.4 Available data.10
2.5 Reservations .11
3 Conclusion .11
Annex A (informative) Questionnaire regarding a methodology for the Measurement of Distance
to postal Access Points .12
Annex B (informative) Questionnaire results .23
Annex C (informative) Analysis of national legislations .34
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Foreword
This document (CEN/TR 15735:2008) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 331 “Postal
services”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).
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Introduction
Article 3 of the Postal Directive requires Member States to ensure that the density of access points (postal
outlets and collection letterboxes) takes account of the needs of users – it contains relatively general
requirements relating to access to Universal Services.
Consequently, Member States have taken very different approaches in defining minimum standards
concerning the density of access points. The most important types of requirements that are imposed on
Universal Service Providers are listed below:
Minimum number: the Universal Service Provider must maintain at least x postal outlets (or collection
letterboxes).
Maximum distance: a postal outlet (or letterbox) must not be further away than x kilometres from any
home or business location. Usually this requirement does not apply to isolated houses in rural areas but
only within populated areas (or similarly defined geographic areas).
Town size: a postal outlet (or letterbox) is mandatory in each municipality exceeding a population of x. In
addition, some countries require the Universal Service Provider to maintain one postal outlet per x
inhabitants in towns.
One outlet per municipality: at least one postal outlet (or letterbox) must be operated in each municipality.
The situation with regard to access conditions and Quality of Service does differ from country to country.
Access conditions refer to the service points of the postal network, like street letter-boxes, post offices and
other outlets that provide postal services. The regulatory requirements with regard to the density of these
access points vary from ‘nonexistent’ to detailed guidelines on the location of access points with regard to
density, distance, population or community related criteria.
Even in Member States where no specific requirements regarding the density of postal outlets exist, it appears
that politics, often locally, strongly oppose Universal Service Providers that plan to close postal outlets, thus
adding a soft component to the universal service obligation.
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1 Scope
This Technical Report takes into account the existing systems for measuring access to postal services and the
targets that are already in use in member states. To get an understanding of the existing systems regarding
population coverage, a questionnaire entitled “Methodology for the Measurement of Distance to postal Access
Points” was circulated to postal operators and postal regulators (see Annex A).
2 Main issues concerning the measurement of network density
2.1 General
This report is based on two data sources, the results of the questionnaire (Annex B) and the legislative
framework for the density of access points to the postal network (Annex C).
An overview of the main issues raised in the legislation and in the questionnaire is given in the following table.
The table is structured in four main parts:
Legislation on Access-Network Density;
Measurement of Access-Network Density;
Available Data necessary for Density Measurement;
Reservations about Distance Measurement.
A tick mark is given for each European country in which the issue is relevant or dealt with.
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LEGISLATION
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Table 1 — Responses on questions about the distance to postal access points
Geographical
Unit I X X X X
National
Geographical
Unit II X
Regions
Geographical
Unit III X X X X X X X
Local Units
Postman
"Service to
Customer" X X X X X X X
Equal to fixed
Access Point
Population
Density I X X X X X
Urban Areas
Population
Density II X X X X
Rural Areas
6
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Switzerland
Sweden
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
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MEASUREMENT
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Indicators
Used I
Absolute X X X
Number of
Access Points
Indicators
Used II
% of
X X X X X X X
Population
based on
Distance
Measurement
System I
X X X X X X X X
System
already in
place
Measurement
System II X X X X X X X
Incl. Postbox
Measurement
System III
Incl. Outlet X X X X X X
with full Postal
Service
Measurement
System IV
X X X
In regular
intervals
Distance I
X X X X X X X X
Straight Line
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DATA
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Distance II
Allowance for
X X X X X X X
Natural
Barriers
Distance III
X X X X X X X X X
Other
Non Distance
I
X X X X X X
Population
Density
Non Distance
II
X X X X X X
Geographical
Information
Data
available I
Population X X X X X X X X X X
Density
(around AP)
Data
available II
X X X X X X X X X X
Population
Density (PCA)
Data
available III
Population X X X X X X X X X X
Density
(geographic)
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RES.
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Detailed
Reservations
About
X X X X X X
distance-
based
measurement
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2.2 Legislation
Eight countries provided information on national legislation on access-network density.
The first three categories in the table indicate on which geographical unit(s) the national legislation is based:
National, Regional or Local.
Local solutions for the access to the postal network often include ‘Mobile Postmen’ who provide access by
‘Service-to-Customer’ instead of the usual ‘Customer-to-Service’ approach connected with a visit to the post
office. The questionnaire gives additional information on other countries where mobile postman are an issue
(three countries).
Sometimes legislation differentiates areas with different population densities. Specialized legislation may be
available for Urban and Rural Areas.
The indicators for access-network density that are used within the legislation fall into two main groups:
absolute numbers for a ‘minimum of postal access points’ and minimum percentage of the ‘population within a
given distance to the postal access point’.
2.3 Measurement
Information on measurement is based on the questionnaire responses. Fifteen countries reported if any
system for distance measurement is already in place or not (see question 3.1, Annex A). Each of the
measurement systems in place is based on the access point “Post Office”.
It is stated if the measurement system includes (or should include, if not installed) post-boxes and postal
outlets with the full range of postal services (see question 4.2.1, Annex A).
Six countries gave additional information about the timing of the measurement, if it is done on a regular basis
or by demand (question 4.4.5).
Thirteen countries indicated if the concept of ‘distance’ is part of access-network density measurement. It is
denoted if distance is measured as a straight-line measurement or if any other distance measure is or would
be applied, for example distance by road or distance in minutes by car (question 4.1.1).
All countries are listed, which reported that an allowance is or would be made for natural barriers like
mountains or rivers (question 4.1.2).
In addition to distance related measures other indicators are used as well (question 4.1.1). These mainly fall
into two categories: firstly, access is related to the population density in the area, in which the access point is
located. The areas are mostly defined by postal or administrative criteria (certain postcode-areas or
municipalities).
Secondly, access is related to geographical information (location of access point / customer, geographical
areas, census based areas). Geographical information is increasingly drawn from electronic Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) which allows for a very detailed geographical stratification of the country.
Both categories may overlap when the population density is available for geographically defined areas.
2.4 Available data
Even in cases where no measurement is installed yet, it is of interest, if any information is available that could
be used for this purpose. Fourteen countries gave information on the data available in their country, which in
most cases consists of population density data.
Population density figures may be available for any defined area around a fixed access point (question
4.2.3.c), for a set of defined postcode-areas (question 4.2.3.b) or for geographically defined areas.
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2.5 Reservations
Not all countries felt comfortable with a standard, which is based mainly on the concept of distance as the
indicator for access-network density as they view the requirements for the access network in a broader
context, which can be seen in the answers to chapter 5 of the questionnaire.
All answers to the questionnaire or additional comments that go into further detail are incorporated at Annex C.
3 Conclusion
There are many different methods of distance measurement that are either in use or appropriate for use. This
may include distance covered by foot or vehicle and can be done by straight line, distance by road or by the
distance covered by the delivery officer. Likewise, information on how a countries population is measured also
varies considerably.
When measuring distance to access points, individual countries physical barriers, such as mountains, rivers,
lakes, etc. have to be taken into account. The legislation clearly indicates if it is necessary to consider those
natural barriers. Although, some use similar measurement systems to others, there are also many differences.
It would be extremely difficult to introduce a single measurement system to meet the needs of all.
As public need for access as well as the cost of providing access to Universal Services can most usefully be
balanced at a local level, there appears to be no reasons for further harmonization in this area at the moment.
However, countries that currently do not have a measurement system in place but would like to introduce such
a measurement system now or sometime in the future may use the information provided in Table 1 and get in
contact with those countries that have a comparable legal situation and a measurement system in place.
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Annex A
(informative)
Questionnaire regarding a methodology for the Measurement of Distance
to postal Access Points
1. Introduction
In its Postal directives (1997 & 2002), the European Commission issued a mandate to the European
Committee for Standardization (CEN) to set up measurement Standards for Postal Services (Technical
Committee 331 on Postal Services).
The European Postal Directive, which aims to achieve an internal market for Postal Services, insists on the
provision of high quality services to users, which involves the need to set up a common measurement
methodology and to follow through with analyses of the results by an independent authority.
Our project team,(CEN/TC 331 PT8: Measurement of the Quality of Access to Postal Services and the Quality
of Postal Delivery) has completed its initial task which involved submitting a Report to CEN/TC 331
recommending a number of areas for standardization. In our Report PT8 recommended four areas for
standardization, one of which is the measurement of distance to access postal services.
The PT8 team is aware, from responses to our earlier questionnaire on what was considered important to
measure from an access and delivery perspective, that a number of countries have developed a measurement
system which provides information on distance to access points. A number of suggestions have already been
put forward to the team. However, PT8 is anxious to collect as much information as possible before
commencing work on drafting a standard in this area.
The purpose of the Questionnaire is to collect specific information in relation to current methodologies, which
are already in place. You will appreciate that this is a particularly complex exercise to standardize across
Europe. Therefore, your views are needed in relation to lessons learned from the experience. Suggestions
from interested stakeholders (postal operators and postal regulators) are also welcome as this will help us
greatly in our work to establish a common ground in developing a measurement system which can be used by
all concerned.
It would be extremely useful to us if we receive an acknowledgement that you have received the questionnaire
and that you will be able to complete and return it to the address shown below dd/mm/yy. The contact
information will help us to follow up and ensure that all interested organisations have an opportunity to reply in
time.
As such, please ensure that you complete the contact information sheet on the following page and return it
without delay using the most efficient means of reply available to you.
The information provided in this questionnaire will be used for the evaluation process of the PT8 team only. It
will be regarded as confidential. Results will be presented in aggregated form only, so that individual replies
cannot be extracted from them. The names of the responding bodies will not be presented publicly. Results
will be grouped for Postal operators, regulators, etc.
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Contact Information
(Please complete all details below & return as soon as possible as this will facilitate follow up & avoid unnecessary late returns)
Name of Organisation
Contact person(s)
Telephone number for contact person
Email address for contact person
Persons involved in completing the
questionnaire
Deadline & Return Address
It would be appreciated if you could ensure that we receive the completed questionnaire by, dd/mm/yy.
When you receive this questionnaire, we would be grateful if you complete this contact information sheet and
return it to us. Please also inform us of your estimated date for returning the completed questionnaire.
Estimated date of return
The completed questionnaire and contact information sheet can be returned by post/fax/email to:
Mr Klaus-R-Knuth Fax: +49 (0) 40 41 09 69-95
Quotas GmbH Email: kr.knuth@quotas.de
Gasstrasse 4
Haus N
22761 Hamburg, Germany
Questions
An electronic copy of the questionnaire can be requested via email to kr.knuth@quotas.de. Questions
regarding the completion of this questionnaire may be directed to:
Klaus Knuth at the above address/email or telephone number or Nigel Woods at Postwatch, 28-32 Grosvenor
Gardens, London SW1W 0TT Telephone: +44 20 7259 1215.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
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2. Subject of measurement
This questionnaire is concerned with the methodology known or used to measure the distance between
existing postal access points and the users of postal services.
Since ‘distance’ is a geographical measure, postal access points (AP’s), as well as users of postal services
(U’s) are described by their address, which indicates their geographical location.
The aim of measuring AP-U distances is to accomplish a measurement indicator of the average distance each
user has to travel to get to his or her nearest possible access point.
Therefore for a single user that AP (from all possible AP’s) is of greatest interest, which yields the “shortest”
AP-U distance.
The average AP-U distance could be calculated for:
• Whole country or different regions or a distinction between urban and rural areas,
• Different types of access points,
• Different types of users of postal services,
• Different types of postal products / services,
• Different types of distances measures.
In the next sections we seek for information on:
• Available measurement systems or existing methodology on AP-U distances measurement,
• Available national data to base an AP-U measurement system on it,
• Specific fields of interest for which AP-U measurement is done or could be done.
3. Existing measurement systems and available data
In this section we want to get a general overview on the topics you hopefully are able to give further detail
later on.
Question 3.1:
Do you know of any existing measurement systems that are concerned with the distance between postal
access points like mail-boxes or post-offices and the users of postal services?
Yes No
If Yes:
Question 3.1a:
Are these measurement systems operational now?
Yes No
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Question 3.1b:
Which organisations are running these measurement systems?
Name
Question 3.1c:
Do you know a contact person at these organisations who deals with the measurement system?
Name
Address
Phone
Email
In case you are involved in such a measurement system yourself, please supply more detail in the next
section (Section 4).
Question 3.2:
Do you know of any existing measurement methodology that could be used for this sort of distance
measurement?
Yes No
If yes, please supply more detail in the following section.
Question 3.3:
Can you provide information on the availability or the structure of data on the geographical distribution of the
population in your country (Census data)?
Yes No
If yes, please supply more detail in the next section.
Question 3.4:
Can you provide information on the availability of data on the location of postal access points in your country?
Yes No If yes, please supply detail in the next section.
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4. Methodology
This section has only to be filled in if you have answered “Yes” to any of the questions in Section 3. If not, you
can skip this section and go on to Section 5.
4.1 Distance
Question 4.1.1:
What kind of distance measurement is used or appropriate for use?
• Time to cover the distance by a certain mode of traffic:
o In [min] on foot
o In [min] by car
• Distance in [km] by road
• Distance in [km] by straight line between the points:
• Other: Please specify:
Question 4.1.2:
Does the definition of distance make allowance for the existence of physical barriers like mountains or rivers?
Yes No
4.2 Access points
Question 4.2.1:
Which types of access points are parts of the measurement?
• Mail-Boxes
• Special boxes for metered mail
• Post-Offices
• Sorting centres
• Shops / outlets with full postal service (not just selling stamps)
• Other: Please specify:
Question 4.2.2:
Is the measurement done separately for each type of access point?
Yes No
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Question 4.2.3:
Is data available on the location of postal access points?
Yes No
If yes: Question 4.2.3.a:
Is the data available for the whole country?
Yes, for Total Sample of Total No, only for Parts
Question 4.2.3.b:
What is known about the location of the individual access point?
• The address itself:
• The postcode itself (if applicable)
• An area of several postcodes
• The town / municipality
• Other: Please specify:
Question 4.2.3.c:
Is any information available about the number of inhabitants / households / businesses served by the
access point?
Yes No
Question 4.2.3.d:
Is any information available about the amount of mail accepted by the access point?
Yes No
Question 4.2.3.e:
Is there any other means than “distance” to define the area (geographical / administrative) served by
the access point?
Yes No
• Definition:
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4.3 Population
Question 4.3.1:
Is information available on individual addresses for points of residence or companies that could be used as
definition for their geographical location?
Yes No
If yes: Question 4.3.1.a:
Can data be provided on the nearest postal access point from this address?
Yes No
• If yes: Type of nearest access point:
Question 4.3.1.b:
Can data be provided regarding any other type of postal access point assigned to this address?
Yes No
• If yes: Type of nearest access point:
Question 4.3.2:
Is information available on the number or density of households and points of residence within a certain
geographical or administrative area?
Yes, Household Yes, Point of Residence No
If yes: Question 4.3.2.a:
Is the absolute number of households known or alternatively some sort of average population (for
2
example per km )?
Absolute number Average number
• If average: What is the basis?
Question 4.3.2.b:
For what kind of area is the population information available?
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• Postcode
• Part of town / part of municipality
• Postcode area
• Town / municipality
• Larger Area
• Other administrative area: Please specify:
Question 4.3.2.c:
Is the data available for the whole country?
Yes, for Total Sample of Total No, only for Parts
Question 4.3.2.d
Is the same information available for the location of companies?
Yes No
Question 4.3.2.e:
Is the average number of inhabitants per household known?
No
Yes
4.4 Measurement Approach
Question 4.4.1:
What kind of measurement approach is used or known in your country?
• Measurement of the nearest access point to individual addresses of postal customers (centre of
measurement is the user itself)
• Measurement of the number of households within a certain distance to a postal access point (centre
of measurement is the access point
• Measurement of the number of households within a certain catchment area assigned to a postal
access point
What sort of catchment area?
• Measurement of the number of households and access points within a certain geographical or
administrative region (for example a certain part of town)
What sort of geographical region?
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Question 4.4.2:
Is the measurement done or possible on basis of complete data for all households / access points or is it
sample based?
Sample based Complete data
If sample based:
Question 4.4.2.a:
How big is the sample?
Question 4.4.2.b:
What sort of sample is drawn?
• Simple random sample
• Stratified sample
• Clustered sample
• Other: Please specify:
Question 4.4.2.c:
Is the sample representative for the whole country?
Yes No
Question 4.4.3:
What sorts of products and / or services are measured or could be measured?
• Buying stamps
• Posting letters
• Posting parcels / express items
• Picking up parcels / notified items
• Posting registered / insured mail
Question 4.4.4:
Is a separate measurement done or could it be done for urban and rural areas?
Yes No
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If Yes: Question 4.4.4.a:
Is the level of demand for short distance to access different in urban and rural areas?
Yes No
Question 4.4.4.b:
Is the population coverage measured different in urb
...
Questions, Comments and Discussion
Ask us and Technical Secretary will try to provide an answer. You can facilitate discussion about the standard in here.