US Postal Service to spice up purchases of electrical autos | Engadget

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service plans to considerably improve the variety of electric-powered autos it’s shopping for to switch its fleet of ageing supply vehicles, officers stated Wednesday.

The Postal Service anticipates boosting electrical autos from 20 p.c to 50 p.c in its preliminary buy of fifty,000 autos — with the primary of them rolling onto supply routes subsequent yr. It additionally proposes shopping for a further 34,500 commercially out there autos over two years, officers stated.

The proposal, to be posted within the Federal Register on Thursday, got here after 16 states, environmental teams and a labor union sued to halt purchases of next-generation supply autos beneath the preliminary plan that was skewed closely towards gas-powered vehicles.

The new environmental proposal successfully pauses the purchases at 84,500 complete autos — 40 p.c electrical — even because the Postal Service search to purchase as much as 165,000 next-generation autos over the subsequent decade to switch ageing supply vehicles that went into service between 1987 and 1994.

Future purchases would concentrate on smaller quantities of autos in shorter intervals than the unique 10-year environmental evaluation, officers stated. 

The aim is to be extra conscious of the Postal Service’s evolving operational technique, know-how enhancements and altering market situations, the Postal Service stated in an announcement. A public listening to on the brand new proposal will probably be held subsequent month.

The next-generation supply autos are taller to make it simpler for postal carriers to seize packages and parcels that make up a larger share of quantity. They even have improved ergonomics and local weather management.