OAKLAND, CA — With nearly 100,000 places to transact postal business nationally, the U.S. Postal Service has made it easier for customers to find convenient locations near them using an interactive map www.uspseverywhere.com . In the Bay-Valley Postal District, customers can pinpoint a postal provider right in their own neighborhood through the expanded access interactive map.

With expanded access, it’s more than just about brick-and-mortar Post Offices. As Postal Service products move online and into retail outlets, grocery stores, office supply chains and pharmacies, the Post Office is literally “everywhere.” Customers want the convenience of transacting postal business where they shop, and the Postal Service has responded. A new business plan now brings Postal Service products and services to stores like Costco and Office Depot, and other retail outlets.

“We’re creating easier, more convenient access to our products and services to match our customers’ needs,” said Bay-Valley District Manager Kim Fernandez. “But make no mistake about it; while we push our brand into expanded access locations and digital channels via mobile applications, it is still the analog experience of customer service that defines us.

“We’re teaming up with hundreds of new stores in Oakland and throughout the Bay-Valley District so customers can transact postal business at places where they already shop,” Fernandez said. “Today, customers have more to do and less time to do it. So, find the nearest place online, on your mobile device, and get on your way.”

Customers can find many locations nearby to purchase postal services by visiting the interactive map at www.uspseverywhere.com and simply typing in a ZIP Code. Using the simple icon guide designating stamps, shipping and packaging, PO Boxes and other services, customers can easily navigate to retail outlets, grocery stores, Automated Postal Center kiosks and Post Offices, among other options.

In Oakland, for example, there are over 80 Approved Postal Provider locations within the 946 ZIP Code.

With Post Office hours usually ending by 5 p.m., customers can send a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box and buy Forever stamps as long as the alternate sites are open — often as late as 9 p.m. Some expanded access locations, like many Automated Postal Center kiosks, are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Nearly 35 percent of the Postal Service retail revenue comes from expanded access locations such as Costco, Office Depot, grocery stores, drug stores, ATMs and online at usps.com, open 24/7.

An electronic press kit on expanded access, including b-roll, JPEGs and audio sound bites can be found at http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/expandedaccess/welcome.htm.

We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.