Great, but they look terrible. I won't enjoy seeing these eyesores.
I think they are cute little duck vans. Look at that duck bill. Quack!
I dunno, they make me smile because they are so ugly/goofy.
U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
451–460 of 503 posts
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#452Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, they are not being built yet. Where else do you think they would go?
You are making too many assumptions about the arrival of chargers and BEV in the first place. When looking where the chargers will go, the issue is that the cars aren't necessarily going to be purchased and delivered, either. So, it isn't clear where the chargers will go, if anywhere. Today, there is a small rollout of chargers planned, but that isn't enough to say that many post offices will have chargers. For those…
You are correct, we do not have an official answer directly from USPS. The article says they still need to review which routes will work best with BEVs.
However, it is highly likely that, for the local offices and route which they find to be suitable they will build chargers in the lots, because 1) others in this space have already done this and it works, and 2) the place where the vehicles are currently parked is the place where it makes the most sense to park the vehicles, logistically.
https://www.rivianownersforum.com/attachments/amazon-chargin...
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#453Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
>Now you have to carry the diesel inside the cabin. Or have a trailer with the generator and fuel tank, I always thought (if we can depart from the "ideological" part of EV vs. ICE) that it could be a "standard" range extender for any kind of electric car, a sort of hybrid on demand, you normally drive (short range) an EV and if you have to do a longer trip you rent the trailer with the generator set.
People would make fun of the generator trailer too much. They already do.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#454Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why does that need to be specially designed? It looks general purpose to me!
I heard of state tenders where they basically have some minimum requirements that have to be met and otherwise choose the cheapest option. For a large amount of vehicles it is probably cheapest to design one that meets all the minimum requirements exactly.
When Seattle started with light rail, they ordered custom cars that were "specially designed for the Pacific Northwest". Nobody was ever able to explain what was special about the PNW and light rail cars. But hey, it cost a lot of money!
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#455Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
It'd be for emergencies or maybe the one planned night you can't charge from the grid. Same as those primary-EV hybrids, it's just that you wanted this specific truck that happens to be full electric.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#456Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think part of the problem is that the danger from cars kind of force the bikes onto the sidewalk. If a biker has a choice between possibly getting hit by a car or possibly hitting a pedestrian, the choice is kind of obvious. The solution is better infrastructure for bikes. Separate bike lanes from cars and pedestrians, slow the cars down, and improve visibility at conflict points.
> If a biker has a choice between possibly getting hit by a car or possibly hitting a pedestrian, the choice is kind of obvious. I don't think that's true, though. The alternative is not "endanger pedestrians", the alternative is "walk". A biker has a choice to not bike. And that's what I do; I walk when I'm in Boston, because I don't think urban biking is safe enough for me to make that choice. Like, yes, better bik…
If biking is a choice then so is driving a car, and cars are far more dangerous to pedestrians.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#457Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. But keep in mind the price of electricity has gone up for everyone in all of Europe, not just at charging stations. For private car owners with no place to charge at home the effect is most drastically visible, as the example shows. But of course when the prices go up it also affects every businesses bottom line. Btw in many countries there are discounted rates for large electricity purchasers, like corporation…
I'm on a market rate plan (price changes hourly). Today I'm paying all of 3c/kWh for electricity. Can't get much cheaper than that. Also the EV+range thing is mostly negated by pre-heating the car while it's plugged in at home, warm battery = more range. Just like we need to do with ICE cars to make the engines even start in the winter.
Wow, that's cheap! Is that in the US?
As for winter, what you say may be good for people with a house and garage who are driving to work and back (but then range should not be an issue anyway). It doesn't work when you street park and it also doesn't really work when you're driving long distances or with a car that's mostly outside, like a delivery van.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#458Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 t…
Fair points.
What I would love to see is a ban on advertising in the mail. It all just ends in the bin. Such a waste to see those poor postal people sorting trash flyers for each house. Has to be soul crushing for them. And all I do is skim it and chuck it and get annoyed I had to sift through to find real mail…
Some sort of “opt in” code… that companies who sent bills and places I signed up to could use. But that would block unsolicited communications…
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#459Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 “feasi…
Cool, I thought I remembered something like that but all I could find was the 10% number from a quick search. Really Happy to see it's higher.
Re: U.S. Postal Service starts nationwide electric vehicle fleet, buying 9,250 EVs
#460Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If a biker has a choice between possibly getting hit by a car or possibly hitting a pedestrian, the choice is kind of obvious. I don't think that's true, though. The alternative is not "endanger pedestrians", the alternative is "walk". A biker has a choice to not bike. And that's what I do; I walk when I'm in Boston, because I don't think urban biking is safe enough for me to make that choice. Like, yes, better bik…
If biking is a choice then so is driving a car, and cars are far more dangerous to pedestrians.
Cars absolutely are more dangerous when pedestrians and cars intersect. They're also not on the sidewalk, where pedestrians usually are, while bicycles (and, in my experience, especially e-bikes) tend to be. I've never gotten hit by a car. I have gotten hit by bicyclists. I'd rather not be hit by either.
If we're all on board with punishing bicyclists (and, again, especially e-bikes), who get to act like vehicles when it suits them, from being on sidewalks and potentially endangering pedestrians, I think there's a great dialogue to have about that.