Why HK does not really need postal codes
Your correspondent John Wilson suggested a postal code system for Hong Kong ('Postal code plea', February 26).
We have in the past made in-depth studies on the feasibility of introducing a postal code system in Hong Kong.
While it is technically feasible, the benefits of such a system to the postal service ultimately depend on individual potential addressees informing potential senders to use the postal codes assigned to the addresses and the senders' willingness to address their correspondence using such codes, in full awareness that this will not make a substantial difference to the service they can expect from the postal service.
We can already sustain a success rate of delivering 99.9 per cent of locally posted letters to their recipients on the working day following the day of posting, as against our performance pledge of 98 per cent, without a post-code system.
Without the existence of a critical mass willing to make use of it, the introduction of a postal code system would not be a meaningful exercise.
Instead, it could become a waste of resources and a cause of public inconvenience.