Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS) has proposed to begin delivering all non-first class and second class mail every other weekday as letter volumes continue to decline, despite protests from industries including greetings card makers.
In its submission to regulator Ofcom, the group said it still pledged to deliver first-class letters six days a week under its Universal Service obligations but said other changes needed to be acted upon "swiftly", with reforms introduced by April next year.
IDS, which has also appointed former BT exec Emma Gilthorpe as CEO of the Royal Mail business, said that letter volumes have declined from a peak of 20 billion a year in 2004/05 to seven billion last year and that volumes are "likely" to drop to around four billion in the next five years.
Its proposals include no changes to the "one-price-goes-anywhere service" to all parts of the UK, with the continuation of first-class priority to recognise the importance of next-day and Saturday deliveries for the likes of the NHS, publishers and senders of greeting cards.
Parcels will be delivered seven days a week, though, while giving letter customers the option of a second-class service that is less speedy but cheaper.
Standard bulk business mail would be similar to second class, arriving within three weekdays instead of two currently.
Royal Mail also called for new reliability targets with more "realistic" speed targets, read slower, "to give customers further confidence".
IDS chief executive Martin Seidenberg said the fall in letter volumes means "the Universal Service is now unsustainable" and the proposed reforms "gives us a fighting chance and will help us on the path to sustainability".
He stressed the importance of urgency for the company, which has made losses in recent years.
"We have serious concerns that the urgency of the situation is not properly recognised by Ofcom. With no need for legislation there is no need to wait," he said.
New Royal Mail CEO Gilthorpe will join on 1 May, moving from her current job as operations chief at Heathrow Airport, where she has held a number of roles since 2009.