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

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391–400 of 503 posts

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

#391
post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The current Česká zbrojovka is located in Uhersky Brod, the Brno location is long gone.

Aye. But there are millions of rifles with such insignia on them [0] and they were exported all over the world. If you asked some guy in the corners of afghanistan what Brno was, in the off chance they knew the word, they would probably think it was a brand of rifle. I'd be curious if there is anything more iconic in recent history from brno that covers the ends of the earth than brno firearms. [0] https://images.gun…

Villa Tugendhat by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is pretty iconic, probably in different circles though.

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

#392

This will save a lot of money over time. Last time I checked in any detail, electricity prices per mile of transport per ton were about 25% that of fossil fuel prices per mile of transport per ton, and that was three years ago. They should really move all long-haul trucking to electric as well, at least for the main trunk lines, and for city-wide delivery. Remote rural routes will likely be the hardest to electrify.

Catenary on main trunks, combined with a requirement that all trucks have some battery range, would be super interesting. Trucks could be extremely efficient without needing to carry their own energy sources

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

#393
post #226

The 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…

Starting the truck doesn’t take 20 seconds.

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

#394
post #164
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For some reason I find it really funny that there are Dominos in the Czech Republic …

There are Dominos everywhere, it's not a laughing matter.

I felt the same way the first time I went to London and everyone in the pub was drinking Coors light except me I was drinking a fine English Bitter. I wouldn't wish Coors upon anyone.

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

#395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EVs are kind of loud these days due to FMVSS No. 141 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/26/2018-03...

As the owner of two EVs, with neighbors that have various EVs and hybrids, I am actually kinda miffed at the new regulations. For a typical appliance car like a Corolla, Camry, or similar, the engine is all but inaudible unless the car is stationary. Once it is past walking speed tires quickly become what you hear. This need to make EVs loud sucks because I was really looking forward to a quieter environment. But no.…

Cars are too dangerous for them to be quiet, which might increase accidents.

I want a quieter environment too, but one with dramatically less cars.

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

#396
post #389
post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around me (Boston USA area) there are ebike grocery deliveries (Getir) wizzing down every street. It's a great idea, although clearly the incentives are set up so that the delivery guys need to complete as many orders as possible, the predictable result of which is that these kids are driving dangerously the wrong was down one-way streets and cutting lights.

The ebikes aren't dangerous, the cars that hit them are. I think that's an important distinction.

It's not the ebikes that he's saying are dangerous, it's the couriers. I got hit by a Getir rider in Brookline (probably near the parent) who zipped the wrong way out of a one-way street into the crosswalk I was using. Any vehicle driven by someone who isn't following the general rules/flow/expectations of everyone around them is dangerous.

And large vehicles are dangerous too. But that's orthogonal.

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

#397
post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around me (Boston USA area) there are ebike grocery deliveries (Getir) wizzing down every street. It's a great idea, although clearly the incentives are set up so that the delivery guys need to complete as many orders as possible, the predictable result of which is that these kids are driving dangerously the wrong was down one-way streets and cutting lights.

I really love the concept of ebikes, for an urban/suburban area it's a viable alternative to a car. This issue as I see is that the regulations just aren't there and people are ebikes ride like complete idiots. Pre-ebike if you were riding at 25mph chances were you were a pretty good cyclist and had good control over your bike, now anybody that can find an ebike is zipping along at 25mph. This wouldn't be a problem i…

As an avid cyclist it really bothers me when any cyclist, e-bike or not, violates the rules of the road. It's so important we follow them. Much of the hatred received is because of bikers doing things they are not supposed to giving us a bad reputation.

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

#398
post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like this might be a case for solar panels on-board. Long delivery route, moderate speeds, open road.

From quick search electric car uses 0.15-0.2kWh per kilometer. That's amount of energy you get after delivering 200 Watts for an hour. Let's say you have 2m2 of roof (pretty generous), of very efficient panels in your driving in absolute optimal conditions when they are giving you full power (that's around 200W/m2). No loses on the inverter and such. So you need to be going at the speed of 2km/h. Well, that's actuall…

I don't think the urban areas would work/are needed. Right now all mail is delivered by foot and likely faster than you could deliver with any vehicle, lots are 25-30feet wide so the density makes walking the best method. Where I do see it happening is out in the suburban subdivisions where people don't even have personal mailboxes, there's usually a cluster of boxes in the middle of the block for all the residents. So deliveries would be every 400m or so, electric would be perfect.

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

#399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like this might be a case for solar panels on-board. Long delivery route, moderate speeds, open road.

What would the solar panels do, power the clock?

one little panel to power a clock, a light, a fan and a radio would be perfect.

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

#400
post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is claiming electrification isn't practical for mail delivery vans. The grandparent comments are discussing long-haul trucking.

Long haul trucking is solved by electrifying US highways. Trains can charge from overhead lines at 200+MPH doing the same for trucks at highway speeds is relatively trivial and allows for on trip charging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road An EV semi with a relatively modest 100 mile range battery easily solves the last mile problem off highways while weighing the same as a traditional ICE engine + fuel.

>this is relatively trivial

No it is not.

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