In Berlin, Deutsche Post use electric trikes and mail here is very efficient.
U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
261–270 of 503 posts
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#262[flagged]
I swear I still get paper bills for crap I turned electronic billing on years ago
I don't get it either. One would think that corporations would cut unnecessary costs by not sending paper bills at the advent of electronic communication. Is there a legal obligation to keep sending them, I wonder.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#263Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know right. It’s one of those mysteries. Maybe they thought it saved gas, like in the old days when great grandpa would deliberately stop the engine at intersections. (Which by the way is common now in some modern cars and startles me.)
I don't like that feature very much since it basically introduces a lag.
It doesn't introduce lag. At least not in a manual car. By the time you've pressed the clutch down and selected a gear the engine will be ready. You can completely forget about it. If you're talking about automatics then maybe you should get a manual if you are so concerned about lag. Engine start/stop might just be your first "don't like it because it's different" thing.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#264Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're Kyburz DXP trikes, specially designed for Australia Post: https://www.kyburz-asia.com/delivery-vehicles/dxp-au 120kg load capacity (270kg with trailer), 50kph max speed, 50-100km range. Curb weight is 315kg, total vehicle weight is 510kg. For comparison, the USPS NGDV requirements were for a vehicle that could carry a loaded Kyburz DKP (minimum payload capacity of 680kg in 155 cubic ft) at twice the top speed…
I don't really understand why they went with a one-size-has-to-fit-all solution here when there's such a high variety of climates and terrains in the US. Or is the idea to start with these where appropriate and develop other vehicles for more extreme climates?
> I don't really understand why they went with a one-size-has-to-fit-all solution here when there's such a high variety of climates and terrains in the US.
Makes logistics cheaper if you only have one model to take care of, and since these are bespoke vehicles you'll also save on costs because the factory only has to build one variation.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#265The mailman stopping and starting the engine at every mailbox is so ridiculously wasteful, not just of energy but also time. That’s an additional 15-20 seconds between mailboxes fiddling with the ignition and transmission. In various neighborhoods I’ve lived in all the mailmen did this. Looking forward to EV delivery trucks to make life easier for the drivers and not having to hear that screeching of the ignition at…
Why don't they just let the car idle? I have never seen a postman not doing that.
One argument against is that it's forbidden in many places (at least in Europe) for a car to idle on the street. It's obviously not always enforced, especially on a mailman, but the spirit of this regulation still makes sense
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#266For comparison, Australia Post went with mostly 3-wheel electric bikes for local deliveries (3100 out of 4100 EVs in the fleet mid 2022). https://auspost.com.au/our-stories/inspiring-stories/sustain... there's a photo in the link. The low noise compared to the previous powered bikes is really nice.
La Poste in France went to Ligier for its 3-wheelers:
https://www.ligier.fr/product/pulse-3/
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#2679,250 EVs vs 14,000 charging stations. Why start off with 30% more more charging stations than EVs?
At least here in Norway, getting connected to the grid is starting to be problematic, as capacity is already pretty stretched. In our neighborhood our condominium got our chargers connected without issue, but now the local transformer is maxed out. Next ones who come along might get a no or will have to pay for an upgraded transformer (not cheap).
So at least here, it would be advantageous to get connected as soon as possible.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#268Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't like that feature very much since it basically introduces a lag.
While I didn't like the start/stop feature when I had a hire car briefly, I can't see how it would ever add a lag. By the time you have pressed the clutch pedal down to put it in gear, it has started.
Most cars in the US are automatics, and it does introduce a lag. I turn it off the moment I turn on the car.
It caused me to almost have an accident when I was in stop and go traffic, specifically because of the lag. The person behind me did not expect me to start so slowly right after stopping (I had to wait for the engine shutoff and then to turn back on).
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#269How does this interact with the huge contract with Oshkosh a couple years ago to replace the LLV?
I believe this is the 10% of the trucks from that contract that were to be EV
That number is outdated, and USPS revised its plans after a lawsuit and other political criticism.
> The plan drew heavy criticism and spawned a lawsuit from 16 states aiming to block the purchase.
> Since then, the USPS has slowly raised the number of EVs it plans to order. In July 2022, it estimated that at least 40 percent of its new purchases would be electric, and in December, it said it was exploring the “feasibility of achieving 100% electrification.” The agency says that it expects to invest around $9.6 billion into the initiative and expects pretty much every vehicle it buys after 2026 to be electric.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/1/23620658/usps-ford-transit...
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#270Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't like that feature very much since it basically introduces a lag.
It doesn't introduce lag. At least not in a manual car. By the time you've pressed the clutch down and selected a gear the engine will be ready. You can completely forget about it. If you're talking about automatics then maybe you should get a manual if you are so concerned about lag. Engine start/stop might just be your first "don't like it because it's different" thing.
A manual has the same lag, except you're coving it up by adding clutch lag instead.