Rochester Reacts to End of Saturday Mail Delivery

When the U.S. Postal Service announced on Wednesday that mail would no longer be delivered on Saturdays, Rochester and Rochester Hills residents reacted positively.

On the Rochester Patch Facebook page, readers sounded off on the change, which the Postal Service says will save about $2 billion annually. The new Monday-Friday letter delivery schedule will begin in August; packages will still be delivered on Saturdays. 

"Great - one less day of getting bills," said reader Jim Hample.

"Fine with me. I always forget to check it until Monday anyway," said reader Ben Schutz.

"I don't really like it, but I understand it," said Jennifer Prall.

Most readers said they wouldn't miss their Saturday mail. "They could go to three days a week, as far as I'm concerned," said Cindy Johnson Landholt.

Others expressed their concerns for the postal workers.

"I just think it's sad that our economy is still suffering and postal workers will be losing hours they may need to help pay their bills," said Dawn Barnes.

Marian Watts, who identified herself as a retired postal worker, also chimed in. 

"I got up at 4:30 every morning six days a week to be at a 6:00 job and sometimes did not get home until 6:00 that evening," said Watts, who explained that she worked for 32 years. "The reason the post office is having trouble financially is because of the pre-funded health benefits for future retirees, and obligation no other government agency or private company bears."

In a statement, the postal service said it continues to seek legislation to provide it with "greater flexibilit to control costs and generate new revenue."

What would you include in postal reform legislation?