20,000 signatures reached
To: USPS Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy & USPS Governing Board Members Ron Bloom, Roman Martinez IV, John Barger, Robert Duncan, Donald Moak, William Zollars
USPS - Electrify the fleet!
The United States Postal Service has just awarded a contract to build the next generation of delivery trucks to a company that will produce mostly gas-fueled vehicles (1). Just 10% will be electric (2). This is the wrong direction. USPS will replace up to 165,000 mail trucks and like their predecessor, the new trucks will stop-go, stop-go on our roads for the next 20 - 30 years (3). There is every reason for USPS to go 100% electric, and no reason not to.
Why is this important?
Replacing the current fleet with all-electric, non-polluting vehicles will prevent many thousands of premature deaths, reduce toxic exposure for the delivery drivers themselves and significantly reduce the US Governments’ CO2 emissions. It would also boost US-based EV vehicle manufacturing and charging infrastructure build-out, creating well-paid jobs and reducing costs and removing barriers for everyone to go electric.
These vehicles will be on our roads for the next 20-30 years. We know that weaning ourselves off carbon fuels is essential to avoid more catastrophic climate changes. Please join me in urging the USPS Postmaster General and USPS Governing Board Members to change this decision and electrify the fleet.
---------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
(1) USPS.com, "U.S. Postal Service Awards Contract to Launch Multi-Billion-Dollar Modernization of Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet". https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/0223-multi-billion-dollar-modernization-of-postal-delivery-vehicle-fleet.htm
(2) Reuters, "U.S. Postal chief commits to 10% of new delivery fleet as electric vehicles". https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-postal-service-vehicles/u-s-postal-chief-commits-to-10-of-new-delivery-fleet-as-electric-vehicles-idUSKBN2AO2LI
(3) USPS.com, "USPS position on Next Generation Delivery Vehicles". https://about.usps.com/news/statements/011516.htm