According to recent data, Canada Post is shelling out close to a million dollars on parking fines. An increasing number of drivers who drive the postal trucks for the Crown Corporation, struggle to find the right parking spots due to congested traffic.
The information is obtained through the Freedom of Information by the Canada Press. It shows that a huge chunk of the tickets is issued in and around the city of Toronto.
With more than 13,000 vehicles within the corporation delivering close to 10 billion of mail annually, this figure is expected to rise.
Reasons why number of fines are more in Toronto
Apart from the rising number of traffic in and around Toronto, there are a lot of reasons why the incidents of traffic fines are much higher in urban areas. These include:
- Mail addresses in and around Toronto, or any urban areas for that matter, are extremely concentrated even within a few blocks. Drivers have to get off and make deliveries every few blocks or make multiple deliveries within a block. When there is no place to park legally, drivers are forced to park illegally.
- The increasing number of deliveries as well as pickups in the urban areas. With online shopping and digital marketing becoming very invasive, consumers want nothing but the best, and this necessitates a lot of product returns and replacements which requires multiple pickups.
- There is no preferential treatment for drivers working for Canada Post. When a car is parked illegally, it becomes a source of hazard for pedestrians as well as other motorists.
- The Canada Post is essentially regulated by the federal government, but their drivers are required to abide by the different municipal and provincial laws.
Is there any solution that can ease this problem?
Although the number of cars will keep rising, there are a few solutions that can ease these exorbitant fines.
- Mailboxes that are placed in extremely high volume areas should not be approved. These would ease the need for the drivers to park illegally so that they can make a delivery or pickup.
- Pickup and delivery times can be adjusted and scheduled during the times when the volume of traffic is a bit lighter.
- Designated parking spots for the corporation can be considered. This is not to give them preferential treatment, but the complicated logistics of pickup and delivery should also be taken into account.