The U.S. Postal Service can viably support about 99% of its routes every day using all electric vehicles, according to a new analysis, which also found the increase in upfront costs may be lower than the agency has predicted.
The findings from the USPS inspector general keep pressure on postal management, which has defied the Biden administration in moving forward with its plans to replace its aging fleet with almost entirely internal combustion engine vehicles. The IG is also planning to conduct additional work concerning the mailing agency’s contract for those vans and trucks—potentially worth billions of dollars—following a request from Democratic lawmakers last week.
The average postal route requires 24 miles of driving and nearly all of them are less than 70 miles. Current technology can therefore easily satisfy USPS requirements for EV deployment, as evidenced by foreign posts and private companies already making that transition.
