Intra-Alaska Bush Service Mail Rates

Order 2005-3-27
OST-2003-14694

Issued and Served March 18, 2005

Order Granting Exemption

By this order, the Department is granting sua sponte a limited exemption from sections 41901, 41902 and 41903 of Subtitle VII of Title 49 U.S.C. and its regulations and mail rate orders thereunder, to the extent necessary to permit the United States Postal Service and any or all bush carriers subject to any of the bush mail rates established by Order 2005-1-18 to agree to pay and accept rates of compensation for bush mail service that are higher in any market or markets than the rates established in that order or any subsequent final bush rate order during the effectiveness of the exemption.  The exemption is limited in duration to a maximum of twelve months, unless we issue a subsequent order extending the exemption, and is subject to other conditions.  The exemption will take effect upon the first Saturday after the service date of this order, and may be modified or terminated by DOT at any time, without notice.

What is clear is that Frontier’s petition does not meet the requirements in our statute and regulations for opening any of the established bush class mail rates, and therefore it must be dismissed.  At most, it requests only a partial opening of the regular Part 121 rate.  Moreover, it makes no attempt to provide cost justification for opening any rate, for the level of relief requested, or for the scope of the relief requested.  Indeed, it explicitly declines to do so.  Frontier’s petition is essentially an unsupported request for individual rate relief.  The fact that the USPS has agreed to support the linehaul “premium” requested by Frontier for a limited period and under certain conditions for the sole purpose of helping Frontier maintain its Part 121 service does not cure the defects in Frontier’s petition.  It is DOT that is responsible for setting mail rates, and given the pleadings in this case, there is no evidentiary basis for DOT to open or modify any class rate.  Nor is there any evidentiary basis for granting individual rate relief to Frontier, even on a limited “emergency” basis.

By: Karan Bhatia