A community for the sharing of links, news, and discussion related to Electric Vehicles.
Initially 10% were supposed to be electric (despite 95% of postal routes being within the electric NGDV's range).
The EPA and a couple senators got mad and it was increased to 20% electric allocation.
Then CA, NY and DC cities got mad and filed lawsuits, allocation was increased to 50% electric.
Inflation reduction act threw in an extra $3bn and fleet is projected to be 75% electric as of Dec 2022.
Sounds like a lot of work but happy it worked out in the end
Oh, 75% electric now?
I just remember when they were first announced and basically none of them were electric, despite most postal routes being low speed, short distance, and frequent stops. Sounded absolutely stupid and reeked of industry kickbacks and bullshit.
The German postal service designed it's own delivery truck in 2014 because they were no viable electric delivery trucks available. With a range of just 100km and 48kW because that was enough for most routes.
Considering what they are currently using, i'm sure anything designed after 1985 would have received rave reviews from carriers.
At least Elon didn't get this job. Imagine what he'd have people come up with instead!
Delayed roll-outs and breaking ota updates?
they look so silly (in a cute way)
Can’t wait for the inevitable safety issues and flips and other bullshit accompanied when the government can’t just buy market products for basic tasks and has to engage with special vendors instead. Just drive fucking consumer vans around.
The Dutch postal service has deployed a ton of ID.Buzz Volkswagen vans. They're super cute, very recognizable and are off the shelves (with some custom frames inside most likely).
But most postal delivery is done by bike, which is not feasible in the United States (either large distances or unfit roads, or both).
Looks like the same 4 year old that designed the Cybertruck. Kind of like something you'd see in a cartoon.
Meh it's designed for function, not looks. Giant bumpers for safety, height for carrying capacity, and large windshield for visibility.
I can guarantee you that this was not designed by Elon Musk.
OMG. It looks just like it.
LOL. Got downvoted for saying this ridiculous vehicle looks like a cartoon. I'll never understand people. LOL.
To me, the Cybertruck feels like it was made by a deeply insecure teenager, crying out for help with how needlessly edgy it is, while the new postal service trucks feel like they hired a children's illustrator to make them cute.
I guess. I just think they both look like a child designed them.
I get that, I just see them as different types of childish: one is edgy and mediocre, the other is adorable and anthropomorphic. "How bad is it that they're childish" is very different between those two
I think the problem is, it's difficult to divorce the Cybertruck from Elon for the comparison. It makes it difficult to believe a 4 year old conceived of a Nazi urban tank AND a comically disproportionate postal vehicle.
Love to see these, and I'm glad the people actually using them are liking them.
Article could have done without this hand job for DeJoy, though:
Once fully deployed, they’ll represent one of the most visible signs of the agency’s 10-year, $40 billion transformation led by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who’s also renovating aging facilities, overhauling the processing and transportation network, and instituting other changes.
DeJoy had to be pressed to not go forward with the purchase of new gas-powered ones, so I would hardly attribute this to him:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and climate hawk Democrats in Congress are pressing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to backtrack on the purchase of thousands of gasoline-powered U.S. Postal Service vehicles,
The line about "renovating aging facilities", overhauling the logistics network, and "instituting other changes" has quite a bit of whitewashing as well:
Last March, the Postal Service unveiled a 10-year cost-cutting plan that would involve the closure of 18 mail-sorting facilities nationwide, consolidating the closed facilities’ services to other cities in their regions. The plan sparked outrage within the American Postal Workers Union, with leaders saying the planned cutbacks and consolidations would hurt service.
Don't forget all the sorting machines he trashed right before the last election
Also please remember that anything good Dejoy does is just the minimum required to keep him off the Biden administration's shit list so that he can keep securing contracts for XPO - the private shipping carrier he still has financial ties with.
This is awesome. We still need to get rid of LeJoy.
I have no idea how he’s still there.
The president can't directly fire him, and inexplicably hasn't used the indirect means available (appointing new members to the board of governors who would do the needful).
Biden used his direct power to cancel student debt for a lot of borrowers and the Supreme Court illegally blocked it so laws are meaningless in this country.
Basically the governors on the board like him, the senate will fight any appointments, and Biden cowed him over the electrical vehicles already, so it was largely a win, somewhat a loss as is.
Initially the new vehicles were going to be like 90% gas, 10% electric. Biden forced him to flip to almost all electric.
I’ll be blunt: the EV win is going to be categorically meaningless if DeJoy ends up fucking with mail in ballots enough that it makes an impact on the result of the election
Well actually, now he can. “Official act, fuck you.” (per Trump v. United States, No. 23-939)
Electric mail trucks make so much sense. The sort of stop-and-go driving they do is murder on internal combustion engines, and the old trucks had to do a ton of engineering to make them reliable despite that sort of abuse. But for an electric it's no big deal.
I love the design of the new mail trucks. They're unique and charming, like something from an animated movie. I think kids are going to love them.
And the shape is better for driver visibility and pedestrian safety
Kids are going to love it because they can finally draw the correct hoodline without changing anything about their bad art skills. Lowering the education standard yet again! I bet the next gen will come with a 2 foot lift to match the kids' terribly engineered suspensions too!
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/647/622/a37.jpg
Good news (no thanks to de Joy). Those are adorkable.
Also, in an unfortunate coincidence, a mail truck broke down in front of my place yesterday, so the need is real.
Ugly looking things, but so is the LLV. The design is already growing on me, and I guarantee that after a few years on the road, they'll become just as iconic as the LLV.
