Andy Nurman
January 22, 2024
The United States Postal Service (USPS) hosted a ceremony in Atlanta to showcase the first electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its South Atlanta Sorting and Delivery Center (S&DC), a key milestone in its plan to electrify its delivery fleet. Attendees included Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and White House Senior Advisor John Podesta.
The EV charging stations will be installed at hundreds of new S&DCs nationwide this year to support the rollout of what will become the nation’s largest EV fleet. The USPS plans to convert about 400 facilities into S&DCs to serve as local hubs for EV deployment.
As part of its $40 billion Delivering for America modernization plan, the USPS aims to add at least 45,000 battery-electric delivery vehicles by 2028, bringing its total EV fleet to over 66,000. This EV procurement is enabled by network upgrades and $3 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.
The event also showcased new battery-powered commercial off-the-shelf delivery vehicles from Ford Motor Company to be integrated into the postal fleet. In total, the USPS plans to obtain 21,000 EVs from various providers through 2024, including 9,250 Ford E-Transit vans.
Our Thoughts
This is very welcome news. The United States Postal Service is a prime example of an organization where electric vehicles can work very well for their needs. These delivery vehicles make frequent stops within neighborhoods and towns, ideal routes for electric cars. The regenerative braking in electric vehicles will also capture energy during the constant stopping and starting on mail routes.
