Online services let cities bypass the mailbox to save money

Last week, the city of San Francisco sent its first letter to residents using Zumbox https://www.zumbox.com/ , a secure e-mail service that allows senders to contact people online using their street address, which regular e-mail doesn’t do.

If the experiment catches on with even a fraction of the population, San Francisco could save a chunk of the $3 million it spent last fiscal year on postage and associated labor costs. Although the service typically costs 5 cents per e-mail, Zumbox is not charging the city.

Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera, Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/09/28/BU0919SO7P.DTL