U.S. Postal Service Ending Saturday Mail Delivery

By: Associated Press

Posted: Wed 9:59 AM, Feb 06, 2013

Letter carriers will no longer deliver first class mail on Saturdays beginning in August, but not all Saturday services are ending. Packages, mail order medicines, priority and express mail will still go to homes and businesses and Post Offices will keep their Saturday hours.

There are about to be some big changes to your mail service. The Postal Service says it's cutting Saturday delivery.

The U-S Postal Service has delivered the mail under all conditions for the last 150 years, but it no longer has the money to keep delivering on Saturdays.

The Postmaster General announced the cost cutting schedule change Tuesday..

"Our move to five day mail delivery also reflects a changing market demand and we are simply not in a position where we can continue to maintain six day delivery," said Patrick Donahue, Postmaster General.

Letter carriers will no longer deliver first class mail on Saturdays beginning in August, but not all Saturday services are ending.

Packages, mail order medicines, priority and express mail will still go to homes and businesses and Post Offices will keep their Saturday hours.

The postal service says its research shows most Americans support the change.

Over the past six years the Postal Service has lost $41 billion as more people switch from letters to email and electronic banking.

To save money the agency has layed off 35 percent of its workforce and cut down hours of service at thousands of post offices. Stopping delivery on Saturday is expected to save $2 billion but it's not enough to balance the books.

The postal service usually needs Congressional approval to make changes - but the agency says it has figured out a legal way to do it without lawmakers.

President Obama called for a cut to 5 day delivery service in his
latest budget proposal.

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