The United States Postal Service has been moving toward electrification for a while now, though it’s not made the progress some had initially hoped. The EVs are coming, however, and the USPS is looking to support that fleet with thousands of chargers located at post offices across the country.
The USPS will convert 400 post offices into hubs that can deploy EVs along delivery routes. Working with Siemens, ChargePoint, and others, the government agency will install 14,000 chargers at strategic locations. The USPS agreed to buy 9,250 Ford E-Transit vans, which offer significantly improved capability over the now-antique Grumman LLV mail delivery vehicles.
Almost 12,000 more EVs will join the fleet by 2028, and the USPS said it will add another 45,000 electric next-generation delivery vehicles by 2028. At the end of the day, the $40 billion effort will yield one of the country’s largest EV fleets and should significantly change how the USPS does business.
While EVs aren’t the best for road trips, their torque and near-silent operation make them ideal for delivery routes and in-town driving. The E-Transit is a huge improvement over the current mail vehicles, and almost any vehicle would bring more comfort and safety than the boxy, loud Grummans roaming our streets today.
[Image: Jonathon Weiss via Shutterstock]
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