December 20, 2022
The USPS has spent several years working on replacing the current old fleet of vehicles. On December 20 the USPS announced plans to acquire at least 66,000 battery electric delivery vehicles as part of its 106,000 vehicle acquisition plan for deliveries between now and 2028. Additionally 21,000 more battery electric vehicles will be purchased commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) depending on availability.
The new vehicles will provide air conditioning and advanced safety technology, and will be more suited to modern operations.
Postmaster Louis DeJoy said, “We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so – that is our mission. As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so.”
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376) played a part in this increase by providing $1,290,000,000 for the purchase of zero emission delivery vehicles through September 30, 2031. Additionally, the Act provides $1,710,000,000 for purchase, design and installation of the infrastructure required to support the zero emission vehicles at both USPS owned, and leased facilities. This is a huge change in direction in that Congress has not given money to the USPS in decades.
See the text of the Act HERE. Postal information is in Section 700005.
Read the USPS News report HERE.