The familiar white box trucks that deliver packages and
letters for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will get greener over the next five
years. The federal government’s General Services Administration (GSA) recently purchased
6,500 replacement vehicles in an effort to remove old USPS trucks from the road.
The USPS plans to add 1,000 E-85 trucks, 900 gas/electric hybrid trucks and
4,600 fuel-efficient gas trucks to its fleet by 2014. By simply swapping 6,500
gas-guzzling trucks for more efficient models, the USPS is taking huge leaps
toward a cleaner fleet.
The recent move by the USPS to clean up its fleet is part of
an initiative to achieve a 20% gas consumption decrease by 2014. The parcel
service has already increased its use of propane, ethanol, electricity and
other alternative fuels by 41% over 2006 figures. USPS will have 43,000
alternative fuel vehicles within its fleet by 2014, amounting to one alternative
fuel truck for every four gas-powered trucks. The 220,000-vehicle
fleet may be far from emissions-free delivery of parcels but the dents in fuel
consumption and emissions created by this recent purchase are considerable.
USPS is undertaking multiple trials and experimental runs
with alternative-fuel vehicles even as the GSA vehicles enter the
fleet. The service’s Florida, California and Arizona offices are using
three-wheel electric vehicles for daily deliveries. These three-wheel delivery
trucks create no emissions and run for less than four center per mile, a
positive development for the financially struggling USPS. USPS workers in Irvine,
California and Washington D.C. are trying Chevy Equinox fuel-cell trucks as
daily delivery vehicles. USPS is also running 35 propane-powered delivery
vehicles on routes throughout Florida this summer.
USPS is demonstrating the virtues of a gradual fleet conversion to government agencies and corporations. The first
step for any agency and corporation toward environmental sustainability is not
wholesale conversion. USPS, AT&T and others are committing to alternative
fuel vehicles as replacement for old members of its fleets but these major
players are also buying fuel-efficient gas vehicles. The debate over
sustainable transportation in the public and private spheres is too often drawn
along the lines of wholesale conversion versus utter inaction. The USPS example
is instructive for any business venture hoping to get greener without frontloading their entire budget on vehicles.
