USPS vehicles to be electrified by 2028, thanks to Inflation Reduction Act

United States Postal Service vehicles will be partially electrified by 2028, according to a recent press release.

The 230,000 USPS vehicles currently in operation have a life-expectancy of 24 years. Around 70% of these trucks lack air-conditioning, and at ten miles per gallon are extremely fuel-inefficient. While production will take some time, roughly 66,000 new electric trucks are expected to arrive before the end of the decade, and could have a steep impact on traffic-related emissions.

The USPS vehicles will be manufactured by the service’s current supplier Oshkosh. The defense contractor and specialty car manufacturer was selected to produce the trucks, which they call Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, in 2021.

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The postal service has a complicated history with electric vehicles. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump-era appointee, has been reticent to prioritize environmental policy, and ignored pleas from the Biden Administration and Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year begging him to cancel purchases of more gas-powered USPS vehicles. His statement on the new initiative was perceptibly lukewarm.

“We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so — that is our mission…As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so.”

The service expects to spend $9.6 billion over the next five years to bring in the new USPS vehicles. Roughly one-third of this money will come from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. Whether the financial assistance served to change the Postmaster General’s mind is unclear.

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