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U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

cbsnews.com

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Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#171

Post by olivermarks »

'a contract has also been awarded for the agency to acquire 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf internal combustion engine vehicles "to fill the urgent need for vehicles." In December, the agency said that 21,000 COTS vehicles will be purchased and are "expected to be battery electric," but said that depends "on market availability and operational feasibility."

In this case, the internal combustion engine vehicles will be gas-powered and made by Fiat Chrysler Automobile, a spokesperson for USPS told CBS News. They added that, unlike older USPS vehicles, these will "feature air conditioning and advanced safety technology and are more suited to modern day operational requirements."

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#172

Post by notch898a »

mojoe wrote: post #145
viraptor wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why only for cities? There's quite a few of them in the local small towns which were previously handled on pushbikes and small motor bikes. There's lots of challenges with mail delivery depending on the area, density, business/residential ratio, and many other things. Those vehicles satisfy some situation. "the challenge" is not a thing.

I think what parent is saying is that in the US a disproportionate percentage of USPS budget is spent delivering mail to extremely rural areas (far from both cities and small towns).

I remember being at the post office and thinking it was dumb that the clerk thought Micronesia was part of the US and they could charge domestic rates.

Only later that I discovered I was the dumb one.

IDK how you can possibly economically send mail to places like foreign barely habited deep pacific islands for the same price as mailing to your neighbor.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#174

Post by AtlasBarfed »

bobthepanda wrote: post #64
akira2501 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> electricity prices per mile of transport per ton were about 25% that of fossil fuel prices per mile of transport per ton In shipping and logistics, time is money. Fuel can be dispensed in the US at a maximum of 10 gal/minute. Factor that against the largest charger you can find and see why the single cost difference doesn't matter yet. > They should really move all long-haul trucking to electric as well Reduced cap…

The economics of long haul trucking make electrification hard. Fortunately, for local deliveries like the post office, constant stop-and-go means that regen braking can really stretch the range of electric batteries.

Plus they aren't driving at high speed between suburban and city houses, plus they aren't actually driving that far (probably 50-100 miles in suburbs, less than 50 in city) so they don't need a huge battery.

They don't need 0-60 in 4 seconds, so a single axle motor is probably all you need.

You don't need NMC chemistry for the range, you can just use LFP or sodium ion when it reaches mass production later this year hopefully.

You can even use a range extender ICE for the rural models like the BMW i3.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#175

Post by AtlasBarfed »

photochemsyn wrote: post #82
akira2501 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> electricity prices per mile of transport per ton were about 25% that of fossil fuel prices per mile of transport per ton In shipping and logistics, time is money. Fuel can be dispensed in the US at a maximum of 10 gal/minute. Factor that against the largest charger you can find and see why the single cost difference doesn't matter yet. > They should really move all long-haul trucking to electric as well Reduced cap…

Implementing a battery-swap system at major truck stops seems plausible. The semi would pull in, its battery pack would be pulled out by a light crane and slotted into a charging unit, and a fresh pack would be installed, no stop-over time needed. I also wonder whether semis on certain well-defined long-haul routes (I-80 etc) could be partially automated, such that the driver could sleep in the back of the cab much o…

You don't need a swap system even. Just tow a trailer (you know like those multi-trailer semis UPS and others have) but one of them is a battery (or generator if you want), and swap the trailer at a swap station.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#176

Post by fbdab103 »

hot_gril wrote: post #126
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EVs are still not campervan ready unless you have no plans to boondock (i.e you will always have a connection to the grid when you stop for the night). If you use solar for recharging, best efforts (with a huge unfolding PV array) get you maybe 100 mile hops. That might be enough for some folks, but it's probably not going to be generally satisfactory (and, btw, it is a huge PV array that is required).

Would a diesel generator solve the problem?

Now you have to carry the diesel inside the cabin. I have no idea what the efficiency is, but I have to assume diesel generator->electric battery is going to take a sizeable bite out of the energy budget. At that point why not just buy an ICE?

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#177

Post by viraptor »

pests wrote: post #162
viraptor wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that what we want - vehicles that go out full most days? (As long as the number of vehicles or trips cover the average daily flow)

Why does a full truck or a half empty truck matter? The truck is still going out each day regardless.

Weight and size correlate with fuel/energy usage. There's also availability of access/parking space and time to access the packages. If you don't deliver more than a bag each day, a car is not needed. If you don't deliver large things, a van is not needed. Etc.

So if you already have a van, it didn't matter if it's half loaded or full. But if you're getting new vehicles, 1 bike doing 3 trips may be way cheaper over time than 1 van.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#178

Post by OhNoNotAnother1 »

notch898a wrote: post #172
mojoe wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what parent is saying is that in the US a disproportionate percentage of USPS budget is spent delivering mail to extremely rural areas (far from both cities and small towns).

I remember being at the post office and thinking it was dumb that the clerk thought Micronesia was part of the US and they could charge domestic rates. Only later that I discovered I was the dumb one. IDK how you can possibly economically send mail to places like foreign barely habited deep pacific islands for the same price as mailing to your neighbor.

First, the post office is not a company but a government service so it can LOSE money and that's fine. Second, they don't they make a little on local delivery and bulk and lose a little on long distance. It's not rocket surgery.

Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs

#179

Post by themodelplumber »

olivermarks wrote: post #171

'a contract has also been awarded for the agency to acquire 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf internal combustion engine vehicles "to fill the urgent need for vehicles." In December, the agency said that 21,000 COTS vehicles will be purchased and are "expected to be battery electric," but said that depends "on market availability and operational feasibility." In this case, the internal combustion engine vehicles will be…

> but said that depends "on market availability and operational feasibility."

Oh great. Living in a rural area this phrasing immediately brings to mind certain people.

"Heer in the hills we only got OIL cars, see. And ourn roads got RUTS would swollow your 'lectric. Nope, 'lectric won't get you up there honey, ain't feesible atall. WEEE HEEE HEEE HEE"

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