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USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

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Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#61

Post by jedberg »

SamWhited wrote: post #54
jedberg wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I said the same below but it applies here too: Google already drives around a fleet of vehicles to collect this data. Wouldn't it be better for them to give all that money to the postal service to subsidize mail delivery while also getting cars off the road? And I'm talking about truly hyperlocal data. When I load up Weather Underground or Purple Air, there are a bunch of sensors near me, but the closest is one mile…

There aren't that many cars that it would get off the road and it's not on mission and outside the realm of their expertise, so no, it's not a good way for them to make money which they shouldn't be doing anyways. This weather data wouldn't be as useful as you think it would be. You'd be getting data only taken once per day more or less at the same time. You're much better using the airstrip a mile away that has a se…

There are 190,000 mail trucks delivering mail every day. I’ll bet NOAA would find 190,000 mobile sensors collecting data eight hours a day, most within a very small radius, quite a compelling dataset. There aren’t that many airstrips. Not even close.

And who cares if it’s not on mission? We can change the mission.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#62

Post by SamWhited »

jedberg wrote: post #61
SamWhited wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There aren't that many cars that it would get off the road and it's not on mission and outside the realm of their expertise, so no, it's not a good way for them to make money which they shouldn't be doing anyways. This weather data wouldn't be as useful as you think it would be. You'd be getting data only taken once per day more or less at the same time. You're much better using the airstrip a mile away that has a se…

There are 190,000 mail trucks delivering mail every day. I’ll bet NOAA would find 190,000 mobile sensors collecting data eight hours a day, most within a very small radius, quite a compelling dataset. There aren’t that many airstrips. Not even close. And who cares if it’s not on mission? We can change the mission.

That's a fair point, NOAA might have a use for it, I don't know.

However, selling data to Google still seems like a bad idea. Things that are off mission and the point is to make money are just a distraction with no good purpose that's going to make the post office be greedy instead of just focusing on delivering the mail.

I could maybe agree that there was some value in having a public set of streetview like images (which is the more likely thing they'd do, not sell it to Google or whomever which would just be terrible), but it also seems deeply creepy. Then again, Google is already doing it so I suppose there's an argument that at least this way it's public domain.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#63

Post by kev009 »

pbourke wrote: post #57
kev009 wrote: post #53

Of defense contractors, Oshkosh is one of my favorite and makes amazing vehicles. I think the USPS will get a reliable and durable platform from them. As far as electrification, they have experience with that in the HEMTT and could upgrade the platform as the USPS dictates. They also have autonomous vehicle experience so there is a lot of longevity to the partnership. So as far as government boondoggles can go, this…

> I have an Oshkosh P19, an aircraft/structural fire truck Cool! What do you use that for?

Brush fires in a rural area

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#64

Post by oliv__ »

madrox wrote: post #50

It's incredible how much flack this thing is getting...especially for its appearance. Clearly gone are the days when designers believed that form followed function. This vehicle was designed to maneuver closely around other objects like mailboxes, maximize cargo capacity, and keep the driver safe. The low hood gives the driver better visibility at the edge of the vehicle while still offering a crumple zone. I can't f…

It needs to strike a better balance imo, the old trucks are so iconic they could use an equally aesthetically appealing successor.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#65

Post by oliv__ »

jedberg wrote: post #42
nottorp wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose google and facebook selling your data is not enough for you...

Google already drives around a fleet of vehicles to collect this data. Wouldn't it be better for them to give all that money to the postal service to subsidize mail delivery while also getting cars off the road?

Because everyone knows how good the government is with our data

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#66

Post by rasz »

pbourke wrote: post #57
kev009 wrote: post #53

Of defense contractors, Oshkosh is one of my favorite and makes amazing vehicles. I think the USPS will get a reliable and durable platform from them. As far as electrification, they have experience with that in the HEMTT and could upgrade the platform as the USPS dictates. They also have autonomous vehicle experience so there is a lot of longevity to the partnership. So as far as government boondoggles can go, this…

> I have an Oshkosh P19, an aircraft/structural fire truck Cool! What do you use that for?

Storming APP (Atmosphere Processing Plant) to rescue colonists I imagine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVLBLJOCBg8 https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/M577_Armored_Personnel_Carrier#B...

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#67

Post by bobthepanda »

madrox wrote: post #50

It's incredible how much flack this thing is getting...especially for its appearance. Clearly gone are the days when designers believed that form followed function. This vehicle was designed to maneuver closely around other objects like mailboxes, maximize cargo capacity, and keep the driver safe. The low hood gives the driver better visibility at the edge of the vehicle while still offering a crumple zone. I can't f…

Low hood would also differentiate it from most consumer vehicles for a good reason.

Pedestrian deaths are rising in the US, both total and per-capita. In large part this can be attributed to the increasing popularity of taller crossovers and SUVs, which strike passengers higher on the body and are more likely to knock passengers under the vehicle and towards the wheels rather than bouncing over the hood.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#68

Post by pbourke »

rasz wrote: post #66
pbourke wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have an Oshkosh P19, an aircraft/structural fire truck Cool! What do you use that for?

Storming APP (Atmosphere Processing Plant) to rescue colonists I imagine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVLBLJOCBg8 https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/M577_Armored_Personnel_Carrier#B...

I hear those things get a lot of blown transaxles

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#69

Post by diggernet »

jedberg wrote: post #42
nottorp wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose google and facebook selling your data is not enough for you...

Google already drives around a fleet of vehicles to collect this data. Wouldn't it be better for them to give all that money to the postal service to subsidize mail delivery while also getting cars off the road?

I'd rather have the government build a public domain dataset as SamWhited suggested (and equally available to Google's competitors, projects like OSM, and any creative HNer) than have them collect proprietary data for Google and help lock in Google's competitive advantage.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#70

Post by tonywastaken »

uneekname wrote: post #3

Does this mean they'll have all the old trucks up for sale? Who wants to start a food truck with me in an old USPS vehicle

I don't want to start a food truck, but I would like to electrify them and make them into a fleet of leasable UberEats/DoorDash/Prime delivery vehicles
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