The US Postal Service will boost purchases of electric vehicles

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service plans to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles it purchases to replace its fleet of aging delivery trucks, officials said Wednesday.

The Postal Service plans to increase the share of electric vehicles from 20% to 50% in its initial purchase of 50,000 vehicles, with the first coming into service next year. It also offers to purchase an additional 34,500 off-the-shelf vehicles over two years, officials said.

The proposal, which will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, came after 16 states, environmental groups and a union filed a lawsuit to suspend purchases of next-generation delivery vehicles under the plan. initial which was heavily geared towards gasoline-powered trucks. .

The new environmental proposal effectively suspends purchases of a total of 84,500 vehicles, 40% of which are electric, even as the Postal Service seeks to purchase up to 165,000 next-generation vehicles over the next decade to replace existing ones. aging delivery trucks put into service between 1987 and 1994.

Future purchases would focus on smaller quantities of vehicles at shorter intervals than the initial 10-year environmental scan, officials said.

The goal is to be more responsive to changes in the Postal Service's operational strategy, technology improvements and changing market conditions, the Postal Service said in a statement. A public hearing on the new proposal will take place next month.

Next-generation delivery vehicles are taller to make it easier for postmen to grab parcels and parcels that make up a larger share of the volume. They also improved ergonomics and air conditioning.

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