The United States Postal Service declared on Tuesday that it will work to electrify its fleet of mail vehicles, with the aim of having all new mail trucks purchased as electric by 2026. By 2028, USPS anticipates having 66,000 battery-electric delivery vans.
Over 220,000 outdated USPS vehicles are being replaced with newer, more reliable delivery vans. The proposal calls for the addition of at least 66,000 electric delivery trucks, which, in contrast to many current delivery vehicles, will have air conditioning and contemporary safety systems.
After several months of dispute, the announcement is made. Only 10% of battery-electric cars would be added to the total number of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, according to a plan provided by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in February 2022. (NGDV).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) questioned DeJoy’s initial plan to add thousands of gas-powered vehicles to the aging fleet of mail delivery vans. DeJoy and USPS were sued over the scheme by states and environmental organizations. USPS announced its intention to buy 50,000 NGDV in July, with 20% of those vehicles being battery-electric.
Now, the Postal Service’s recently unveiled plan would increase the number of NGDVs by at least 60,000, with 75% of those being electric vehicles. Additionally, 21,000 more COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) electric vehicles will be produced.
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The investment totals $9.6 billion, of which $3 billion was provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. According to a statement from the White House, the Inflation Reduction Act financing will provide $1.3 billion for electric delivery vehicles and $1.7 billion for charging infrastructure.
DeJoy had previously said that the Postal Service would find it too expensive to switch to electric cars. However, in the most recent announcement, the Postmaster General stated that, although most EV funding is still anticipated to come from USPS revenues, the $3 billion provided by Congress has significantly reduced the risk associated with accelerating the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure required to electrify our delivery fleet.
The recently revealed intention to convert a bigger proportion of the new mail trucks to battery electric cars is being praised by environmental organizations.
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According to NPR, Adrian Martinez, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, one of the environmental organizations that sued the Postal Service earlier this year, said: “Today’s announcement takes us almost all the way there. Every neighborhood, every household in America deserves to have electric USPS trucks delivering clean air with their mail.”
In order to further save expenses and carbon emissions, DeJoy claims that the USPS is aiming to eliminate inefficient transportation, such as truck trips and air cargo.