WASHINGTON – The United States Postal Service (USPS) will more than double its planned purchases of electric delivery vehicles, officials said on Tuesday, tapping into funding from Congress and responding to pressure. cuts from the White House. emissions.
USPS says it now plans to buy at least 66,000 yen tram through 2028 after pledging to buy 25,000 next-generation electric delivery vehicles in July and revealing that it is considering purchasing an additional 20,000 commercially available vehicles.
Congress in August gave USPS $3 billion as part of the fund430 billions of climate bills to buy electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The White House said the USPS would use $1.7 billion to charge the infrastructure.
In December 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order stating that light vehicles acquired by the government will be zero-emissions by 2027. The order does not apply to the Postal Service because it is an independent federal agency.
Senior White House adviser John Podesta said the plan aligns with Biden’s goals and “puts the postal fleet on track to electrification, dramatically reduces vehicle mileage in the network, and puts the USPS away at the forefront of the clean transport revolution.”
In July, the USPS said it would buy at least 25,000 next-generation electric delivery vehicles – more than double its previous estimate, and said it could buy an additional 20,000 commercially available electric vehicles.
On Tuesday, USPS said it now expects to spend $9.6 billion on vehicle acquisitions through 2028. It predicts 45,000 out of 60,000 next-generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs) from Oshkosh Defense by 2028 will be the battery and it plans to buy an additional 21,000 commercially available commercially available vehicles (COTS) “subject to market availability and operational feasibility.”
In February, the White House harshly criticized the USPS’ initial proposal to buy 90% of vehicles that run on gasoline.
USPS said the purchase of at least 66,000 electric vehicles is part of its plan to buy 106,000 vehicles for delivery through 2028. But USPS, which now has an aging gasoline-powered delivery fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles, said on Tuesday. Three that it also anticipates buying more gasoline-powered vehicles “necessary to meet immediate vehicle replacement demand.”
USPS says NGDV acquisitions delivered in 2026 and beyond are expected to be all-electric. Modern vehicles will replace many of the 30-year-old USPS lacking air bag and other safety equipment as well as air conditioning.
In April, 16 states, four environmental groups, and the United Auto Workers union filed lawsuits to prevent USPS from purchasing primarily gasoline-powered next-generation delivery vehicles under contract with Oshkosh worth at least $2.98 billion.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
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