Bending to strong public opposition, the nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday backed off a plan to close thousands of rural post offices after May 15 and proposed keeping them open, but with shorter operating hours, which could affect seven local post offices.

The post office in Waltham, one of the offices facing closure, will remain open, but will most likely only be open for two hours per day, down from six. Six other offices could see reduced hours, including Brownsdale, from eight hours per day to six or four, and Dexter, Lansing, Lyle, Racine and Rose Creek, all from eight hours to four, according to the USPS.

The move to halt the shuttering of 3,700 low-revenue post offices followed months of dissent from rural states and their lawmakers, who said the cost-cutting would hurt their communities the most. In recent weeks, rising opposition had led Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to visit some rural areas in a bid to ease fears about cuts that could slow delivery of prescription drugs, newspapers and other services.

In an election year, the angst over postal closings also extended to nearly half the senators, who in letters last week urged Donahoe to postpone closing any mail facility until Congress approves final postal overhaul legislation. The Senate last month passed a bill that would halt many of the closings; the House remains stalled over a separate bill allowing for aggressive cuts.

“I could live with this plan, and I think the majority of people could,” said June Nygren, who runs the Jersey Lilly Saloon & Eatery in the tiny Montana town of Ingomar. Donahoe visited the rural town of about 80 people last month, which welcomed him with a spread of home-made baked goods and a packed school gymnasium as people pleaded for their post office to stay open.

“I felt he really paid attention, and apparently he did,” Nygren said.

At a news briefing, Donahoe said he hoped the latest plan will help allay much of rural America’s concern about postal cutbacks. He prodded Congress to act quickly on legislation that will allow the agency to move ahead with its broader multi-billion dollar cost-cutting effort and return to profitability by 2015.

“We’ve listened to our customers in rural America, and we’ve heard them loud and clear — they want to keep their post office open,” he said. “We believe today’s announcement will serve our customers’ needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.”