US Postal Service pledges move to an all-electric delivery fleet.
A significant boost for President Joe Biden’s commitment to remove gas-powered vehicles from the federal fleet that is swarming and the U.S. The Postal Service said Tuesday it will significantly increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks and will switch to electric power when new purchases are made in 2026.
The post office announced it will spend nearly $10 billion to modernize its fleet of old vehicles, which includes installing a new charging infrastructure in hundreds of post offices across the country and buying at least 66,000 electric delivery vehicles over the coming five years. The amount includes $3 billion in funds that was approved as part of an important climate and health policy that was adopted by Congress in the year 2000.
The White House hailed the announcement as a way to maintain an efficient and reliable service for Americans and modernize the entire fleet cutting operating expenses and clearing air in communities across the nation.
“This will be an example of the Biden climate strategy that is on wheels, and it is the U.S. Postal Service delivering for the American citizens,” stated White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi.
“It’s amazing that it’s great that the Postal Service will be at the forefront of making the transition to electric cars that are clean and postal employees as their ambassadors,” declared John Podesta, a senior White House adviser. “It will make people think”if the postal worker drives an electric vehicle, I can use an electric car, too.”
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The U.S. government operates the largest fleet of vehicles in the world. Furthermore, the Postal Service is the largest fleet of federal government vehicles that includes more than 220,000 cars, which is one-third of the total U.S. fleet. This USPS news “sets the standard to the remainder of the federal government and most importantly, other nations around the globe,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who came under fire for his initial plan to the purchase of hundreds of gas-powered trucks stated that his Postal Service is required by law to send packages and mail at 163 million addresses seven 7 days a week. It also has to cover the cost of doing this.
“As I’ve said previously, if we are able to meet those goals in a more sustainable way, then we will achieve it,” he said in an announcement on Tuesday.
US Postal Service pledges move to all-electric delivery fleet @USPS #EVs #zero-emissions #procurement #federal https://t.co/uoG1XWfJ0h
— Federal Times (@FederalTimes) December 21, 2022
DeJoy, an avid Republican donor and a political close ally to former president Donald Trump, thanked Podesta and other White House officials for putting aside differences over politics to “focus on getting the ball moving forward.”
This new plan for fleets is “operationally appropriate and financially sustainable as well as environmentally friendly,” DeJoy declared during a press conference in front of Postal Service headquarters.
A smiley Podesta was seen shaking hands with DeJoy, and said he was “unforgettable The ” an edgy opposite to White House criticism early this year when DeJoy proposed an initiative which would have made only 10 percent of the agency’s new-generation fleet electric. It was the White House and Environmental Protection Agency condemned by the Postal Service, an independent agency, for not estimating the greenhouse gasses it emits and not taking into account alternative options that are more sustainable.
Environmental groups, as well as several states comprising California, New York and Illinois filed a lawsuit to stop the initial plan . They also asked judges to require an additional thorough environmental assessment prior to when it is decided whether the Postal Service moves forward with the program of modernizing its fleet. It was later decided that the Postal Service later adjusted its program to ensure that half of the first purchase of 50,000 of the next-generation vehicles will be electric.
Katherine Garcia, director of the Sierra Club’s clean transportation campaign described the policy announced on Tuesday as “a major victory for the public’s well-being” and a common sense decision.
“Instead of receiving pollutants in their mailers, towns throughout the U.S. will get the benefit of cleaner air”, she added.
“Every community, every home in America deserves to have electricity-powered USPS trucks that are able to breathe clean air to their mail. Today’s announcement is a good start on the way to that goal”, stated Adrian Martinez, a senior attorney with Earth justice, one of the groups that filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service.
Senator. Tom Carper, D-Del. Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee The senator said this Postal Service announcement “represents real advancements,” but Carper added “I’m still not quite ready to say that this is a complete job. We need to keep up the pressure until the USPS’s delivery vehicles run on renewable energy.”
Senator. Gary Peters, D-Mich. who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has said that the senator will “push to ensure that every aspect that is part of our postal system to be more environmentally green and union-made.”
Alongside the latest security equipment, the latest delivery vehicles are larger which makes it easier for postal couriers to access the packages that comprise more of the volume. They also feature enhanced ergonomics and climate control.
