Saturday mail delivery

The nostalgia!

Saturday mail delivery was a common practice in the United States until 2006, when the United States Postal Service (USPS) began to phase out Saturday delivery as a cost-cutting measure. Here's a brief history:

• Prior to 1963, mail was delivered six days a week, Monday through Saturday.
• In 1963, the USPS began to reduce Saturday delivery to five days a week, with mail delivery only occurring on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
• In the 1980s, the USPS experimented with Saturday delivery in some areas, but it was not a widespread practice.
• In 2006, the USPS announced that it would stop delivering mail on Saturdays, effective November 17, 2006. This change was made to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
• In 2013, the USPS announced that it would continue to deliver packages on Saturdays, but mail delivery would remain limited to weekdays.

Today, the USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday, but only packages are delivered on Saturdays. Mail delivery is limited to weekdays (Monday to Friday).

The decision to phase out Saturday mail delivery was met with some resistance from the public, particularly from rural communities and small businesses that relied on Saturday delivery. However, the USPS argued that the change was necessary to address declining mail volumes and increasing costs.

It's worth noting that some private carriers, such as UPS and FedEx, continue to deliver packages on Saturdays, but these services are typically more expensive than USPS delivery.