Sustainability leaders are outraged at the U.S. Postal Service for dragging its feet on the abolition of gas-powered mail trucks and other vehicles – and the agency also does not appear to be seriously considering non-vehicle mail delivery options.
On January 6th message In the federal registry, the USPS has re-committed to its plan to replace only 10% of its 231,000 aging trucking vehicles with electric vehicles over the next 10 years, highlighting the long-term logistical and financial challenges of maintaining EV batteries. Routes.
This time frame will narrowly preclude a deadline set by President Biden last month, when an enforcement order was issued requiring all federal agencies to be electrified. 2035 And it also means that 90 percent of what The biggest The state-owned fleet in the country will be powered by fossil fuels for decades to come – and that most of the popular pedestrian-friendly truck designs the agency unveiled last year will still run on gas.
The National Council for Resource Protection has vehemently rejected the agency’s reasoning, which drastically estimates the distance traveled by an average mail truck, while at the same time not estimating the mileage that the average EV is able to cover before it needs to be plugged in. Teeth Less than 6 percent of U.S. mail routes are longer than 70 miles, while today’s electric vans can already go 140 miles on a charge – a capacity that is likely to increase as battery technology improves.
“The U.S. Postal Service has confirmed that it opposes considering the real-world financial and health benefits of switching to zero-emission electric vehicles,” said Patricio Portillo, a transportation analyst at NRDC, ed. “This is a lost opportunity and a huge disappointment.”
Unfortunately, the agency’s offer completely ignored the potential of shipping electric bikes and tricycles, which Researches show Can reduce emissions by about a third compared to electric vans, especially in crowded cities where mail routes are short.
Shipping companies are increasingly using electric chargers for city deliveries. It is good. No more delivery vans blocking the road.
We now need to redistribute the road area accordingly: wider bike lanes and fewer car lanes. # Cargo bike Cyclology pic.twitter.com/j4USlxXvgP
– Henk Swarttouw (@copenhenken) January 6, 2022
Many citizens of Germany, Australia, And Netherlands Have already received their post on electric bikes, and North American supporters have long since Ten That they are an untapped tool in the state’s struggle to clean up the transportation sector – especially in cities that are already building the protected infrastructure needed to support the safe delivery of bicycles.
only 49 Of the 231,579 Shipping Routes USPS routes now end on bicycles, and are all located in Florida and Arizona.
Defense attorneys say it’s not nearly enough – especially given the rising death toll on American roads. Mail trucks most involved from 29,000 Crashes every year, costing taxpayers millions in the settlements, As reported by Streetsblog.
Breaking: The U.S. Postal Service says electrification of all mail trucks will cost $ 3.3 billion.
So the question is: Is Congress ready to pick up a pony?David Freer (@DavidFerris) January 7, 2022
The USPS has not completely ruled out the possibility of significantly furthering its fleet – at least when it comes to its cars.
When the agency first announced its plan to a congressional panel in February last year, General Mail Director Louis de Joy Told Critics that it could conceivably 90% fleet electrification with “an additional three or four billion dollars,” an estimate that experts later reduced to $ 3.3 billion. If it passes, the latest version of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act will be given to the agency $ 6 billion Especially to buy electric trucks.
No one has been able to figure out how much this price tag could shrink if a significant portion of the fleet of electronic vans were replaced by electric and tricycles. Given that even “light electric vehicles” with the highest capacity cost the least two thirds However, less than the average pickup truck, proponents argue that hauling trucks into the canal on appropriate routes makes economic sense, in addition to the safety, emissions and health benefits of the right size of fleet for urban neighborhoods.
Defense attorneys say the shift can not wait any longer – and they do not accept the postal service’s excuses.
“Given the current and future economy of electric vehicles, there is no reason for the planned transition to non-emission vehicles to wait,” Portillo added. “Obviously electric vehicles have long-term economic logic, and the postal service needs to start planning a faster transition now.”