Saturday Mail Delivery: To Cut or Not to Cut?

The U.S. Postal Service wants to drop Saturday mail delivery to help shrink its massive budget deficit that totaled $8.5 billion last year. But the Postal Regulatory Commission said Thursday that the idea won’t save as much money as the USPS believes, The Hill reports.

The commission’s advice is required before Congress decides on any change in postal policy. The commission didn’t make a recommendation for or against the idea, but it estimates that nuking Saturday delivery would save only $1.7 billion a year, compared to the $3.1 billion estimate of the USPS.

The commission also said the savings wouldn’t be achieved for at least three years and that about 25 percent of first-class and Priority mail would be delayed by two days. People living in rural and remote areas would suffer worst, it said.