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Almost 1m households will miss out on second-class post on Saturdays next year as Royal Mail pushes to cut back on weekend deliveries.

The postal operator is planning a trial of reduced service in some areas that will allow second-class letters to be delivered just three times a week between Monday and Friday.

First-class mail will continue to be delivered six days a week, including on Saturdays, for people who need to send an urgent letter or card.

Royal Mail would probably begin its trials in February at 37 of its 1,200 delivery offices across the UK, covering just under 1m addresses. This would be rolled out gradually as part of a phased process.

Exact locations are yet to be determined, but bosses expect to run the trial at roughly three delivery offices in each of its 12 regions nationwide. This would ensure the proposals are tested in a range of urban and rural locations with a variety of letter volumes.

Under the plans, first-class letters would be combined with parcel deliveries in vans, which are now a key area of focus for the company as it looks to capitalise on the growth of online shopping. Rotas would also need to be adjusted so that postal staff deliver second-class mail to each street on alternate days.

Royal Mail is hoping a successful trial will help convince Ofcom to approve the scrapping of second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays as part of a broader overhaul of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to every address in the UK six times a week at a uniform price.

Ofcom is currently considering the proposed changes to the USO and is expected to launch a consultation in the new year. If the regulator approves Royal Mail’s plans, the changes would be rolled out nationwide, probably coming into effect in the second half of 2026.

Royal Mail bosses are lobbying to water down the USO rules, which they argue have made the company financially unsustainable amid a sharp decline in volumes. The number of letters sent each year has dropped from a peak of 20bn two decades ago to 7bn today and is forecast to fall further to just 4bn in five years’ time.

Royal Mail, which lost £348m last year, has estimated that moving to a three-day service for second-class letters could save up to £300m annually.

The company is also pushing for a relaxation of delivery targets, which requires it to deliver 93pc of first-class mail on time and 98.5pc of second-class post.

Royal Mail has repeatedly missed these targets in recent years, sparking significant fines from Ofcom. Earlier this month the regulator handed down a record £10.5m fine after the postal service delivered more than a quarter of first-class letters late last year.

Reforms to the USO were a key part of discussions in the £3.6bn takeover of Royal Mail by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, which was approved this week.

Mr Kretinsky has made a number of legally binding undertakings linked to the takeover to help ease concerns about the postal service falling into foreign ownership for the first time in its 500-year history.

The tycoon, whose company EP Group was already the largest shareholder in Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services, has also pledged not to make any compulsory redundancies while any reforms to the USO are being implemented.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Working with our unions, CWU and Unite CMA, we plan to pilot a new delivery model in 37 of our c.1,200 delivery offices in the new year. The first pilot is due to start in February 2025 with a staggered roll out over the following months.

“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.”

An Ofcom spokesman said: “We’re speaking to postal users to understand how the universal service could evolve while continuing to meet their needs. We’ll consult publicly on proposals in the new year, and we understand Royal Mail plans to carry out pilots in light of any proposals we make.”