The U.S. Postal Service recently announced its plans to acquire at least 66,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2028. This effort is a part of the $9.6 billion plan to replace the aging fleet of over 220,000 vehicles. The new vehicles will be ready to hit the road by the end of 2023.
The company’s strategy aligns with the federal, state and local government agendas to lower carbon footprints in the transportation sector. The initial plan, which only included 10% of electric vehicles, received much criticism and disapproval from both the White House and environmentalists.
Following President Joe Biden’s order, the USPS had to conduct a new environmental review and committed to a rate of at least 20% of EVs for the new fleet. In July, the Postal Service also shared its intention to buy an additional 34,500 EVs from other automakers. This revised plan is impacted by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act which gave the Postal Service necessary funding to go electric.
“The $3 billion provided by Congress has significantly reduced the risk associated with accelerating the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure necessary to electrify our delivery fleet,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a statement.
Apart from transforming its fleet to become electric, UPS is also looking to reduce carbon emissions by streamlining operations. The agency will publish a draft of its environmental impact in May to get a greater understanding and support from the public.
“What is less widely understood is that our network modernization initiative is necessary to enable this vehicle electrification and will also provide meaningful cost and carbon reductions in other ways,” mentioned Louis. “A key focus of our modernization effort is to reduce inefficient transportation and improve distribution operations, resulting in far less air cargo and far fewer truck trips.”
