The Postal Service Plan Sets the State of the Clean Transportation Revolution: Amazon vs. Rivian Plans to Boost Electric-Powered Delivery Trucks
Supply chain troubles and inflation have made it harder forAmazon and Rivian to reach their goals of an electric delivery fleet. When then-CEO Jeff Bezos announced a deal with the EV startup in 2019 to buy 100,000 vans, he said they should be on the road by 2024. It is Amazon’s goal to have 100,000 vans on the road by the year 2030.
Starting in July, the EDVs first rolled out in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, San Diego, and Seattle. Since then, they’ve been put into service in a bunch of new cities, including Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Madison, Newark, New York, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Portland, Provo, and Salt Lake City.
It’s Washington. In a major boost for President Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate gas-powered vehicles from the sprawling federal fleet, the Postal Service said Tuesday it will sharply increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks — and will go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026.
John Podesta, a senior White House adviser, said the new plan places USPS at the forefront of the clean transportation revolution and sets the postal fleet on a course for electrification.
The United States Postal Service is delivering the Biden climate strategy, according to a White House climate adviser.
The US Postal Service is the largest fleet in the federal government with more than 220,000 vehicles, making it one third of the U.S. fleet. The USPS announcement “sets the bar for the rest of the federal government, and, importantly, the rest of the world,” the White House said.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who came under fire for an initial plan that included purchase of thousands of gas-powered trucks, said the Postal Service is required by law to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days a week and to cover its costs in doing so.
The Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation Campaign Against a State-Selected Plan for the Next-Generation Postal Service, Part I: Electricity and Climate
“As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Environmental groups and more than a dozen states, including California, New York and Illinois, sued to halt the initial plan and asked judges to order a more thorough environmental review before the Postal Service moves forward with the fleet-modernization program. The Postal Service’s plan was changed so that half of the 50,000 vehicles it buys will be electric.
The Sierra Club’s clean transportation campaign director called Tuesday’s announcement of a plan a huge win for the environment and public health.
In addition to modern safety equipment, the new delivery vehicles are taller, making it easier for postal carriers to grab the packages that make up a greater share of volume. Climate control and ergonomics have been improved.