The Postal Service formally placed its
initial $2.98 billion order for 50,000 vehicles with at least 10,019 of them
being battery-electric vehicles. That represents a doubling of electric
vehicles from the initial plan. The first of the new vehicles are expected to
be on delivery routes by late next year.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the
Postal Service made good on its pledge to accelerate purchases of electric
vehicles based on financial outlook and strategic considerations.
“Today's order demonstrates, as we have
said all along, that the Postal Service is fully committed to the inclusion of
electric vehicles as a significant part of our delivery fleet" even though
they represent a more costly investment than internal combustion vehicles, he
said.
US Representative Carolyn Maloney, chair of
the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said she appreciated the larger
share of electric vehicles. But it's still not enough, she said.
“The Postal Service must prioritise the
acquisition of electric vehicles or it will be stuck with outdated technology
that further pollutes our environment for decades,” said Maloney, Diocese of
New York.
The Postal Service is in the process of
replacing the ubiquitous delivery trucks that went into service between 1987
and 1994.
All told, the Postal Service's fleet
includes 190,000 local delivery vehicles. More than 141,000 of those are the
old models that lack safety features like air bags, anti-lock brakes and backup
cameras.
The new vehicles are taller to make it
easier for postal carriers to grab packages and parcels that make up a greater
share of volume. They also have improved ergonomics and climate control.
It would cost an extra $3.3 billion to convert the entire Postal Service fleet to electric vehicles. Money for that was included in Biden's Build Back Better plan that stalled in Congress.
EV Charging Points in UK, A Stats-Driven Guide, according to Autotrader
Complete with a map of UK charging points and everything a potential electric vehicle owner needs to know, we cover:
The rise in EV charging points in the UK
How fast different charging points will charge your car
The popularity of electric vehicles
Consumer attitudes towards EVs
We cover a variety of stats and figures, like:
There are over 27.5k charging devices in the UK. Since 2015, public charging devices have grown by 43% year-on-year.
This growth is only going faster. In fact, the government has set ambitious targets of introducing 145k new charging points every year from 2030 onwards.
However, not all charging points are created equal. In the UK, 56.7% of EV charging points are classed as fast, meaning they will fully charge a Tesla Model S in 5-11 hours.
In October 2021, EVs held a 23.1% market share of all vehicles being registered in the UK - this is a sharp rise from April 2021, when the figure was just 13.3%.
22% of British drivers state that they are very likely to switch to electric vehicles in the future.