A change in operational hours at the U.S. Post Office on Los Ebanos Boulevard has caught residents by surprise with many waiting in line for nearly an hour for services.

The Service Center now opens at 9:30 a.m., an hour later than in previous years.

The post office made change “because after research, we found out that we did not have enough business between 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.,” said Mary Trevino, a customer service representative at the Los Ebanos Boulevard post office branch.

Treviño said the hours of operations changed about two weeks ago at the Los Ebanos Boulevard and Elizabeth Street post offices.

The change in hours did not sit well with some 75 residents who waited in line on Friday morning for the doors to open.

I was here earlier and it wasn’t opened. I was shocked,” said Gary Hatcher, 59, one of the residents waiting in line. “It was better before. You could pick up your mail before your job started.”

The post office on Los Ebanos serves as the main service center for the city. Another post office is located in downtown Brownsville, but doesn’t have as high a traffic count as the one located on Los Ebanos Boulevard.

“They have to have more (inside) stations open. They only have two,’ said Ninfa Verde, 69. “They raised the prices and they cut the hours.”

Treviño would not elaborate what type of research the post office used before changing the hours of operations.

U.S. Post Office — Olmito

7955 N. Expressway 77

Hours of operations:

9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday

10 a.m. - noon, Saturday

U.S. Post Office — Brownsville locations

1535 E. Los Ebanos Blvd.

Hours of operations:

9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m., Monday through Friday

9 a.m. - noon, Saturday

1001 E. Elizabeth St.

9:30 a.m. - 3:30 a.m., Monday through Friday

Source: United States Postal Service, Web site: usps.com