U.S. Postal Service fleet gets greener, with 66,000 EVs arriving through 2028

Efforts to thrust and prod the U.S. Postal Company into guaranteeing electric powered vehicles make up a higher portion of its new mail truck fleet have delivered.

The agency explained Tuesday it will obtain additional EVs by 2028 than in the beginning anticipated. In total, 66,000 EVs will be incorporated in the Postal Service’s overall options to purchase 106,000 vehicles amongst now and 2028.

There experienced been uncertainty bordering the agency’s willingness to further more dedicate to electrifying the biggest and oldest vehicle fleet owned by the U.S. federal government. But in August, Congress in essence directed the Postal Support to electrify most of its new mail truck fleet by approving $3 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for these kinds of buys.

With Democrats retaining handle of the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, and the Biden administration requesting the Postal Company additional study its strategy to purchase largely gasoline-driven cars, it experienced appeared extra EVs were being on the horizon.

“The USPS strategy leverages the $3 billion supplied by the Inflation Reduction Act to strike the goal of 100 p.c electric shipping and delivery motor vehicle buys in 2026 [and] sets the postal fleet on a study course for electrification,” John Podesta, senior adviser to President Joe Biden, explained Tuesday.

In March, the Postal Service’s original 50,000-car or truck buy from Wisconsin’s Oshkosh Protection, which won a 10-yr contract worth up to $11 billion, had integrated 10,000 EVs. The agency then said it would maximize its EV acquire to 25,000 with industrial off-the-shelf automobile purchases.

Soon after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Postal Service’s silence on growing its electrification commitments set off a round of lobbying and legal maneuvers that incorporated a joint lawsuit from the UAW and the Natural Assets Protection Council and letters from members of Congress.

The Postal Assistance will now maximize its initial buy of Future Generation Shipping and delivery Autos to 60,000, of which 45,000 will be EVs by 2028. All cars purchased by the agency right after 2026 are expected to be completely EVs.

The agency expects to spend $9.6 billion, including the $3 billion from Inflation Reduction Act funds, on its new fleet.

“The $3 billion furnished by Congress has considerably decreased the threat linked with accelerating the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure vital to electrify our shipping fleet,” said U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. “Though most of the electrical vehicle funding will keep on to occur from Postal Service revenues, we are grateful for the self-confidence that Congress and the Administration have positioned in us to create and receive what has the likely to come to be the premier electrical car or truck fleet in the nation.”

The Postal Provider reported it would also examine the possibility of obtaining 100 per cent electrification of its fleet and do the job to lower its carbon emissions as a result of logistics advancements and lessened transportation prices.

“A critical emphasis of our modernization effort and hard work is to decrease inefficient transportation and strengthen distribution operations, resulting in much much less air cargo and far fewer truck journeys,” DeJoy reported.

“When combined with our substantial dedication to the electrification of our shipping automobiles, the Postal Service will be at the forefront of our nation’s inexperienced initiatives.”