From a high level, the updated plan seems significantly improved: the percentage of ZEVs in the fleet has increased substantially, they’ve signaled that they plan to focus the deployment of ZEVs in communities experiencing environmental injustices, and they’ve committed to purchasing only ZEVs after 2026. This is all great news.
However, there are still several unaddressed flaws in their analysis that lead to undervalued benefits and overinflated costs of fleet electrification. If properly addressed, a more accurate analysis would likely show clear evidence for a plan that maximizes ZEV deployment within the fleet given the massive lifetime cost savings of ZEVs and the fact that, according to the USPS, 90 percent of routes could be served by electric delivery vehicles. A USPS fleet that maximizes electrification potential would not only help to reduce climate warming and air pollution but would help to make electric vehicles more commonplace in every community across the nation.