Politics & Government

Saturday Mail Delivery to End, Postal Service Announces

The U.S. Postal Service announced it will end Saturday mail delivery by Aug. 1. How will it affect you?

Calling the six-days-per-week mail delivery business model “no longer sustainable,” the U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday it will eliminate Saturday delivery of mail by Aug. 1.

The plan to change delivery from six days a week to five would only affect first-class mail. Packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail would still be delivered on Saturdays, and local post offices will remain open for business Saturdays.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the reasons are continued economic struggles and the increasing use of the Internet for communications and bill paying by consumers. The U.S. Postal Service is also the only federal agency required to pre-fund health benefits for retirees, and those costs are escalating quickly:

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“Our current business model of delivering mail six days a week is no longer sustainable. We must change in order to remain an integral part of the American community for decades to come.”

Saturday is the lightest mail delivery day by volume and many businesses are closed on Saturdays, according to the U.S. Postal Service. However, many residents receive print magazines and ads on Saturdays in the mail that may be shifted to another day.

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We asked what readers thought about the change on the Warren Patch Facebook page. Vipul Kotasthane said he doesn't care since he only "gets junk mail anyways."

But it's a more direct question for Stevie Smyth, a letter carrier in Warren, who wasn't sure what it may mean to his future.

"I guess wait and see," he said. 

What do you think? How will this change affect you? Will you miss getting mail on Saturdays? Tell us in the comments box below.


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