New policy guidelines for delivery staff using their own two-wheeler vehicles

New policy guidelines for delivery staff using their own two-wheeler vehicles - Policy guidelines on delivery of Postal articles by Delivery staff through their own two-wheeler vehicle

• The Department of Posts has issued new policy guidelines for delivery staff to use their own two-wheeler vehicles for delivering postal articles.
• The guidelines cover regular Postman staff, Grameen Dak Sewaks, outsourced delivery staff, and other departmental staff engaged in delivery work.
• Delivery staff can be reimbursed for fuel charges at the rates prescribed by the Parcel Directorate.
• Reimbursement charges will be linked to delivery performance and usage of the Postman Mobile App.
• Circles are to implement the guidelines from November 15, 2024.

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No: 16-02/2024-D

Government of India Ministry of Communications Department of Posts

Mail Operations Division Dak Bhawan, New Delhi- 110 001

Dated: 25.10.2024

To
All Heads of Circle

Subject: Policy guidelines on delivery of Postal articles by Delivery staff through their own two-wheeler vehicle - reg.

Over the past few years, delivery of postal articles has undergone a transformational change over the years. More and more delivery staff are presently using their own 2-wheeler vehicles i.e. bike/scooter for delivery of postal articles. Parcel Directorate has also issued guidelines for payment of fuel reimbursement charges to delivery staff engaged at NDCs/Delivery Post offices (containing Parcel Delivery beats) using their personal 2-wheeler vehicles for Parcel delivery vide OM dated 6th May, 2022 (Copy enclosed). Besides, private courier players operating in the country are also effecting delivery of the booked articles including documents through the 2-wheeler vehicle owned by the delivery staff.

2.Department has recently enter into a tie-up with Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) for delivery of toolkits under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme. The toolkits weighing between 15 kg. to 40 kg. are to be delivered to the beneficiaries (artisans, craftsman, etc.) under the Scheme. The toolkits are being delivered Pan-India and includes areas covered under Nodal Delivery Centres, delivery POS other than NDCs as well as delivery areas covered under delivery jurisdiction of Branch Post Offices. It is expected that delivery POS in small towns and Branch Post offices will receive 1-2 toolkits in a week for delivery to the beneficiaries. This low volume may not justify delivery of such toolkits through 4-wheeler vehicles, however delivery of such heavy articles also cannot be effected through foot/cycle beat. Delivery of such type of articles can easily be performed through the 2-wheeler vehicles as is the practice in the private courier industry.

3.However, Department at present has no policy for encouraging the delivery staff to use their 2-wheeler vehicles for delivering the postal articles (Speed Post, Registered, ordinary articles) other than Parcels. Though Department has also made provision in Recruitment Rules for Postman for hiring a person with valid 2-wheeler driving license to become postman. At present, Departmental guidelines only deals with the delivery of postal articles through bicycle for which Delivery staff receives Bicycle Allowance at the rate of Rs. 180/- per month as has been provided vide Deptt. of Expenditure OM dated 14/7/2022.

4. Delivery through bike/scooter not only provides for expedited delivery of the postal articles but has also been necessitated by the present trends in the courier and express market. Besides, mechanized delivery also improves productivity of delivery staff by enabling delivery of increased number of postal articles by a delivery staff by reducing 

the travel time travelled in a delivery beat. Mechanized delivery is also beneficial to the delivery staff as mechanized beat involved less physical exhaustion in comparison to foot or cycle beat. It is also to be noted that at present major courier players in the country are using 2-wheeler vehicles for delivery of postal articles. Mechanized delivery of articles in association with the setting up of centralized delivery of articles will help the Department in bringing its delivery practices at par with the other delivery players operating in the country such as morning & evening delivery beats, improved efficiency in delivery, etc.

5.Accordingly, policy guidelines to provide for the delivery of all kind of postal articles by the delivery staff by using their own 2-wheeler vehicle i.e. bikes/scooter and payment of fuel reimbursement charges to such delivery staff are being issued. The Policy Guidelines have been broadly framed on the line of Guidelines issued by the Parcel Directorate. Besides, formula for calculation of fuel reimbursement charges to the delivery staff have been kept same as has been issued by the Parcel Directorate. A copy of the Policy guidelines is attached.

6. Following are the major features of the guidelines for delivery of all kind of postal articles including documents by the delivery staff by using their own bikes/scooter:

(a) Following types of delivery staff engaged in Departmental Post offices including NDCs will be covered under the guidelines:

(b)

• Regular Postman staff
• Grameen Dak Sewaks (GDS) including GDS Mail Carrier (MC)* Other Departmental staff being engaged for delivery work Outsourced delivery staff
• *Including GDS Mail Carrier engaged in Branch Post Offices
• Ad-hoc revised Postman Establishment norms will be applicable for the delivery staff when the delivery is being made through 2-wheeler vehicles. Accordingly, following entry related to delivery of postal articles through 2-wheeler vehicles will be added in the "Sl. No. 16" of the Postman Establishment norms issued vide letter no. 9- 1/2005-W.S.I/PE.I dated 5/2/2010 (Page 3-6/C) as is indicated below:

Note: Postman Establishment Norms for delivery of postal articles through 2-wheeler vehicles are ad-hoc norms and will be applicable till the delivery norms for delivery through 2-wheeler vehicle are issued by the Postal Directorate.

(c) Delivery staff can be paid reimbursement charges for delivering postal article through their own 2-wheeler vehicle at the rate as has been prescribed for delivery of Parcels by the Parcel Directorate vide OM dated 6th May, 2022 and same formula also included in the attached Policy Guidelines.

(d) Payment of reimbursement charges to the delivery staff will be made on the monthly basis.

7.The Policy will be applicable for two years from the date of implementation after that the Policy will be reviewed by the Department for further continuation on the basis of cost-benefit analysis.

8. Circles are requested to implement the Policy guidelines in the Post offices for delivery of all kind of postal articles including documents by the delivery staff with effect from 15th November, 2024.

This issues with the approval of Secretary (Posts).

Encl. A/a

DDG (Mail Operations)

Policy Guidelines on Delivery of Accountable Postal articles including Speed Post, Registered, Parcel and Ordinary articles by Delivery staff through their own two-wheeler vehicle 

Delivery of postal articles have undergone a transformational change over the years. More and more delivery staff are presently using their own 2-wheeler vehicles i.e. bike/scooter for delivery of postal articles. Department, at present, has no policy guidelines for encouraging the delivery staff to use their 2-wheeler vehicles for delivering the postal articles except Parcels. However, Department has made provision in Recruitment Rules for hiring a person with valid 2-wheeler driving license to become postman or GDS. At present, Departmental guidelines only deal with the delivery of postal articles through foot or bicycle. Besides, Department has issued guidelines vide Parcel Directorate letter no. 18-02/2022-PD dated 6th May 2022 for reimbursement to delivery staff who are delivering parcels through their own bikes. However, there is no clear guidelines for reimbursement to delivery staff who are using their 2-wheeler vehicle for delivery of Speed Post, Registered or Ordinary articles.

2.Delivery through 2-wheeler vehicle i.e. bike/scooter not only provides for expedited delivery of the postal articles but also necessitated by the present trends in the courier and express market. Besides, mechanized delivery also improved productivity of delivery staff by enabling delivery of a greater number of postal articles by a delivery staff by reducing the travel time travelled in a delivery beat. Besides, mechanized delivery is also beneficial to the delivery staff as mechanized beat involved less physical exhaustion in comparison to foot or cycle beat. Accordingly, these policy guidelines are being issued to provide for the delivery of all kind of postal articles by the delivery staff including Postman, GDS, outsourced manpower, etc. by using their own bikes/scooter and reimbursement charges to be paid to such delivery staff.

3.Applicability of Guidelines: The guidelines for reimbursement of mileage charges will be applicable to following category of delivery staff engaged in Departmental Post offices and are delivering postal articles through their own 2-wheeler vehicle:

i. Regular Postman staff

ii.Grameen Dak Sewaks (GDS) including GDS Mail Carrier (MC)

iii.* Other Departmental staff i.e. MTS being engaged for delivery work Outsourced delivery staff

iv.*Including GDS Mail Carried engaged in Branch Post Offices 

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3.1 The guidelines, however, will not be applicable to delivery of postal articles by Franchisee if they are authorized or any similar such arrangements as they are already being paid consolidated delivery charges.

3.2 The guidelines will also not be applicable to GDS staff engaged in delivery of postal articles at Branch Post Offices.

3.3 It is also clarified that in such cases, where fuel charges are being reimbursed to delivery staff, coolie charges would not be paid to delivery staff.

4. Delivery Norms for Delivery through Two-wheeler Revised Postman Establishment norms will be applicable for the delivery staff when the delivery is being made through 2-wheeler vehicles. Following entry related to delivery of postal articles through 2-wheeler vehicles will be added in the "Sl. No. 16 of the Postman Establishment norms issued vide letter no. 9-1/2005- W.S.UPE.I dated 5/2/2010 as is indicated below.

Note: Postman Esubishment Non for delivery of postal articles through 2-wheeler vehicles are ad-hoc norms and will be applicable til the delivery norms for delivery through 2-wheeler vehicle are issued by the Postal Directorate

5.Modalities for allowing reimbursement for fuel charges:

5.1 Documents to be Checked:

Following documents are to be checked by APM (Delivery)/Postmaster or any other official supervising the delivery work and kept in guard file to be maintained in Delivery Post Office before allowing the reimbursement of vehicle mileage charges to the delivery staff:

• Valid 2-wheeler driving license in the name of the person doing delivery.
• Copy of the Registration certificate of the 2-wheeler vehicle,
• Copy of insurance certificate of the two-wheeler vehicle,
• Vehicle should be owned by the delivery staff or owned by the immediate family members of the delivery staff. In case the vehicle is owned by the immediate family member of the delivery staff, a declaration to this effect from the delivery staff should be obtained and placed in guard file at Delivery Post Office In case the vehicle is not owned by delivery staff or immediate family member, then ed an authorization letter from vehicle owner, in the name of delivery staff be obtained and kept in record.

5.2 In charge of the Post Office will forward a proposal for allowing the reimbursement of fuel charges in a delivery beat to the Division Head in the Annexure 1. Divisional Head will examine the proposal and will either allow or disallow the proposal within 7 days of receipt of the proposal. An intimation of decision on each proposal will be sent to the Post office concerned.

6. Rate of reimbursement of Fuel charges to delivery staff: Delivery staff will be paid reimbursement of fuel charges as arrived at from the following formula as has been prescribed vide Parcel Directorate letter no. 18-02/2022-PD dated 6th May 2022 (copy enclosed):

Total fuel reimbursement Average expenditure on periodic maintenance per km. charges paid to delivery (Rs. 0.98) + Average fuel charges per km* staff per km

*Average Fuel Charges per km (i.e. Fuel price in the respective state/Average mileage of the bike i.e. 40 Km/Litre)

6.1 Payment of reimbursement charges to the delivery staff for usage of their own 2-wheeler vehicle will be linked with the delivery performance of accountable articles as indicated below: SI. art gri Delivery Performance

6.2 Reimbursement Charges

• If delivery performance is 95% or more than 100% payment of calculated charges 95%
• If delivery performance is between 90% to 80% payment of calculated charges 94.9%

Para 6, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 of the Parcel Directorate letter no. 18-02/2022-PD dated 6th May 2022 (Appendix 1) may be referred for the calculation of fuel reimbursement charges to the delivery staff.

6.3 Circles will notify the rates for reimbursement of fuel charges to be paid to delivery staff for delivery of documents in their circles for this financial year 2024-25 by 31st October, 2024 with

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7.2.1 While allowing the fuel re-imbursement charges to the GDS MC, Circles must also rationalize the number of GDS MC required for carrying the BO bag to the Branch Post offices considering the saving of time due to mechanization.

8. Calculation of Average distance travelled in beat: Daily reimbursement charges to be paid to the delivery staff will be based on the average km travelled by the delivery staff during the "observation period" as detailed below.

Observation Period: Average of the distance travelled by the Delivery Staff during 6 working days. The distance travelled through 2-wheeler vehicle by delivery staff during observation period will be checked daily by the APM (Delivery)/Postmaster or any other official supervising the delivery work. Besides, meter reading of the 2-wheeler vehicle before the delivery staff departs for the delivery and return from the delivery will also be noted down in a Register (Annexure-II).

8.1 Any complete week of 6 working days can be selected by the Postal Divisions for the 'Observation Period'. This exercise may preferably be carried out during April month of each

year.

9. Payment of reimbursement charges to the delivery staff for usage of their own 2-wheeler vehicle will be linked with the usage of Postman Mobile App. In order to eligible for the fuel reimbursement charges, at least 95% of the accountable articles during the period (for which claim pertains) should be processed through PMA.

10.Manner of submission of Fuel Reimbursement claim form by the delivery staff: The delivery staff will submit a Fuel Reimbursement claim form for reimbursement of fuel charges in the prescribed format (Annexure-III) on the 1st working day of month for the previous month with details of number of Accountable articles delivered on each date, delivery efficiency of accountable articles, % of articles handled in PMA and average distance per day in the month for which fuel reimbursement charges are being claimed.

11. Action by APM Mails/ Post office In-Charge: APM (Delivery)/Postmaster or any other official supervising the delivery work at Post office will randomly check the genuineness of the delivery of Accountable articles at the door step of addressee in respect of at least 5 Accountable articles from the delivery manifest through the "PMA-Beat Delivery Report" available on CEPT MIS portal on a daily-basis.

12. Accounting and Payment of Fuel Reimbursement Charges: After checking the entries made by the delivery staff in the Fuel Reimbursement Form (Annexure-III) by the delivery staff, the APM (Delivery)/Postmaster will ensure to submit the bills to the Divisional Office for sanctioning the same by 5th of each month. Concerned Divisional Heads will sanction the bills of Fuel Reimbursement charges by 10th of each month. Payment of reimbursement of fuel charges to the delivery staff would be done on monthly basis by 15th of each month after following due codal formalities by concerned Post masters In-charge Nodal Delivery Centers. Payment of fuel reimbursement charges to delivery staff would be met from the allotment made to the Circle under the Head of "Office Expenses (OE)".

13.

Documentation at HO/SO: A Payment Register for payment of reimbursement charges to the delivery staff will be kept by the APM (Delivery)/Postmaster or any other official supervising the delivery work in the format as attached at Annexure IV. Divisional / Sub Divisional Heads will check the Payment Register during their visits.

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