Royal Mail to scrap Saturday second-class put up for practically 1,000,000 households subsequent 12 months amid big shake-up of the enterprise
Royal Mail will scrap Saturday second-class post for nearly a million households next year.
The postal service, which is in the process of being bought by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, will trial making fewer deliveries from February.
It is the first step towards Royal Mail permanently axing second- class deliveries on Saturdays in a huge shake-up of the business.
The reduced delivery trial will be rolled out at 37 of Royal Mail’s 1,200 delivery offices, affecting almost a million homes.
The exact locations have not been revealed but the pilot is expected to affect around three delivery offices in each of Royal Mail’s 12 regions to ensure an even spread across the country.
First-class and parcel deliveries will still be made six days a week.
Currently Royal Mail must deliver letters six days a week to all 32million addresses in the UK under the Universal Service Obligation. But the postal service has been lobbying for change for four years, saying the commitment costs up to £2million a day.
Letter volumes have fallen from a peak of 20billion a year in 2004/5 to just 6.7billion annually, it said.
The postal service, which is in the process of being bought by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, will trial making fewer deliveries from February
The reduced delivery trial will be rolled out at 37 of Royal Mail’s 1,200 delivery offices, affecting almost a million homes
Watchdog Ofcom will launch a consultation on the proposal to deliver second class letters every other working day early next year.
A final decision is expected to be made in the summer and the changes could then be rolled out nationally in 2026.
Parliament would not have to make any changes to legislation for the decision to be pushed through.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: ‘The pilots are designed to ensure everything runs smoothly and we can deliver a better customer experience if we deploy any Universal Service changes.
‘We will only look to implement our new operating model if Ofcom’s new regulations come into force. Until then, the current regulatory framework remains in place and any proposals are subject to change.’
Earlier this year, the Daily Mail revealed that Royal Mail had hatched plans to trial cutting business post, including bank statements, bills and some NHS letters.
