Groups that want to electrify USPS fleet file lawsuit

The Associated Press ^ | April 28, 2022 | By DAVID SHARP

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Four environmental groups that want the U.S. Postal Service to buy more electric delivery vehicles are suing to halt purchases of thousands of gas-powered trucks as the agency modernizes its mail delivery fleet.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in California asks a judge to order the Postal Service to conduct a more thorough environmental review before moving forward with the next-generation delivery vehicle program.

Plaintiffs contend that purchases of fossil fuel-powered delivery vehicles will cause environmental harm for decades to come.

“Louis DeJoy’s gas-guzzling fleet guarantees decades of pollution with every postcard and package,” said Scott Hochberg, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, referring to the postmaster general.

The lawsuit filed by Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, CleanAirNow KC and Sierra Club could be the first of several targeting the Postal Service’s environmental review of the next-generation delivery vehicle program.

[JD_UTDallas]

Your numbers are old here is the most recent compiled data direct from the agency legally obligated to document it.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php

Cheers

[Vaduz]

Hydrogen fueled delivery vehicles zero emissions problem solved no $20,000 batteries that are hard to recycle no rare metals required lower costs of vehicles.

Somebody miffed they not getting their cut of the deal.

[Chuckster]

Electric vehicles will eventually replace all the gas and diesel fueled units on the road today. It is just a question of time/$$$$

[zeugma]

I will argue that electric limited use postal vehicles are in fact a valid use of the technology. Postal delivery vehicles all come home at night for recharging. In effect they are like electric forklifts in use on loading docks everywhere.

Perhaps, for vehicles with very short routes. There probably are some places where coal-powered vehicles could be used. For the majority of routes though, I seriously doubt they have the range., given the start/stop nature of postal routes.You might be able to do it with diesel-electrics, which is proven tech, but leftists hate diesel even more than gasoline.

[bert]

I understand your point but range is calculated at hiway speeds. delivery vehicles will seldom achieve protracted hiway speeds and thus consume less juice as they slowly progress up delivery routes.

There are many classes of postal vehicles. I believe that USPS bought or is buying all new delivery trucks and that is probably what prompted the lawsuit

[ridesthemiles]

In rural areas-—electric won’t work.

I do NOT know how many miles MY mail carrier drives each day, but she has 482 customers.

There are many areas FAR MORE RURAL than mine.

When I was in Wyoming in 2001, rancher told me that they get mail only 3 days a week—M-W-F & their carrier had a differnt route the other 3 days.

That rancher went over 98 miles ONE way to shop in Laramie. Her kids rode the school bus over 80 miles round trip to attend school.

[ridesthemiles]

How much to discard the batteries???

[ridesthemiles]

HOMES are plugged in at night, also.

WHO gets priority???

[GarthVader]

Rural mail carriers drive their own vehicles — at least everywhere I have lived. So this mandate is utterly irrelevant to rural.

[GarthVader]

Electric is fine for hilly terrain. Electric cars can have incredible low end torque. That’s why Tesla’s have such incredible acceleration numbers. It’s also why trains are diesel-electric.

Also, electric vehicles can charge themselves when going downhill, whereas IC engines merely provide friction.

Where electric vehicles are weak is storing large amounts of energy for long trips, especially at high speeds where air resistance is a big factor. Batteries for long haul trucking are a big no go. (Hybrids might make sense. A generator-motor combination acts like a continuous transmission.)

[Pelham]

The primary maintenance items among the Tesla owners that I know are new tires and windshield wiper fluid.

You probably couldn’t come up with a vehicle fleet more ideally suited to EVs than the USPS delivery trucks. The routes are not particularly long and the trucks return to the barn every night. No range anxiety.

I was following the bidding for the new USPS delivery truck and I was really surprised when an EV wasn’t chosen. Oshkosh, who got the contract, primarily builds military vehicles which makes me wonder if political connection played a big role in the award.