Comment by pu_pe
1 day ago
I think two phenomena are at play here, other than plain-old enshittification:
1) Demand for mailing of common letters and documents has dramatically decreased, so it makes sense to defund the mail system. Economies of scale also suffer, further compounding inefficiency
2) In the times of the Pony Express it was probably ok to accept the death of a few riders here and there. Labor standards and thus costs are a major factor in this segment, and they have risen a lot
> In the times of the Pony Express it was probably ok to accept the death of a few riders here and there
That made me curious so I looked it up: "There is historical documentation that four Pony riders were killed by Indians; one was hanged for murder after he got drunk and killed a man; one died in an unrelated accident; and two froze to death."
Note that that's for a service that ran for 18 months total.