USPS sees potential to buy more electric vehicles under facility consolidation plan

DeJoy, speaking Thursday at a Reuters event on supply chain execution in Chicago, elaborated on the agency’s consolidation plans.

“We are consolidating our routes. Our routes, which normally might have 20, 24 carriers and reach 40,000 people, will now have 300, 400 carriers and reach 600,000 people,” DeJoy said.

USPS, he added, operates 220,000 routes that deliver to 160 million addresses six days a week.

DeJoy said this consolidation would add more miles to most delivery routes, and that longer routes would result in a better cost analysis for electric vehicles.

Letter carriers affected by this consolidation would drive more miles out to their delivery stops, and more miles to return to the Sort and Delivery Centers.