Electek recently wrote an opinion on how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) can solve its fuel consuming truck problem by following Europe's example of using smaller electric freight bicycles to transport mail. It has been proved that USPS is already conducting tests in this field , and these small electric mail vans look very fashionable. They are not only designed to carry heavy loads, but are also manufactured in the United States by the Montana based coaster cycles company.
E-mail bicycles are manufactured on the freighter aw platform, which can be modified for various types of commercial e-freight bicycle applications. Technically, it is an electric freight tricycle, but it almost looks more like a freight car than a bicycle.
The huge trunk provides 72 cubic feet of space for mail, and the bike can hold 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of cargo. Hydraulic disc brakes help bring all these weights to a quick and safe stop.
Bosch's cargo line electric bicycle drive system provides power for the bicycle, and the system provides 85 nm torque for the rear wheels. The drive system is paired with a 500wh battery to provide power for the central drive motor, although multiple batteries may be replaced to extend the range. It's not like bicycles lack space to carry oneortwo spare batteries.
The middle drive motor operates through the precision automatic transmission based on enviolo continuously variable transmission, which means that the postman can spend less time worrying about shifting gears and more time looking for the house number and observing the road conditions. The smaller diameter rear wheels help keep the cargo box below the ground, and the rear view mirror helps the rider see the back of the cargo box.
In addition, the cockpit of the bicycle includes a backup camera, which makes it easier to operate when reversing the bicycle in a narrow space. Although most e-bikes have good rear visibility, it can be seen that it is convenient to back up the camera on this particular model.
So far, USPS electric bikes seem to be working well. Christopher Jackson, the city delivery director, explained in the postal record.
Although these new e-bikes still have many things to consider and evaluate, I hope the postal service will continue to explore eco-friendly options for urban delivery. I like to hear feedback from the carriers involved in the test. Thank the bicycle carriers in Florida for welcoming NALC representatives and providing valuable insights, as well as their dedication to delivering mail in the community on their bicycles every day. As always, I sincerely thank all city postmen for your continued service to the American people despite many challenges.
USPS is currently dealing with the consequences of strong opposition to its new fuel consuming mail truck program.
USPS initially announced that it would purchase up to 165000 next generation delivery vehicles (ngdvs) from Oshkosh defense Corp. The initial plan was that 10% of these vehicles would be electric, although USPS later increased the proportion of 50000 vehicles originally ordered to 20%. Ngdvs will run as low as 8.6 miles per gallon (about 27.5 liters /100 km).
However, there have been several recent lawsuits against USPS, involving a high proportion of fuel consuming vehicles in orders.
As Jameson Dow of electek recently explained:
The lawsuit filed today resurrects many recent arguments against this decision, mainly focusing on USPS' failure to conduct environmental assessment in a timely manner. They believed that not only the initial environmental assessment was conducted after the contract was announced, but also the assessment was flawed in considering the air quality and climate impact of the plan, and did not seriously consider other alternatives to gasoline vehicles that USPS decided to adopt.
According to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) signed in 1970, federal agencies must publish environmental impact reports (EIS) before any policy changes that may have an impact on the environment.
However, the environmental assessment of USPS was not only criticized as inadequate by all groups that filed a lawsuit today, but also criticized the plan by the White House and the US Environmental Protection Agency (the plan also conflicts with President Biden's order to convert the entire federal fleet into electric vehicles). Even the inspector general's office, the USPS oversight body, said that the agency would benefit from the adoption of more electric vehicles than they currently planned.