USA: U.S. Postal Service Electrification of Delivery Vehicles

With a large geographically dispersed vehicle fleet and short delivery routes, the Postal Service makes a particularly interesting national laboratory for testing technological advancements of electric vehicles (EVs) sought by the President through the Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted this study on the feasibility of EVs1 in the Postal Service in response to a request from Congressman José E. Serrano, Chairman, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Committee on Appropriations. The primary objective of the study was to assess the operational and economic feasibility of moving the Postal Service’s delivery fleet to electric vehicles. In summary, use of electric vehicles for Postal Service deliveries is operationally feasible and could provide a valuable opportunity for the nation to test EV technology. Due to the Postal Service’s current financial distress, government funds and vehicle to grid (V2G) revenue would likely be needed to make this transition economically feasible.

Source: www.uspsoig.gov