Congress is attempting to send the U.S. postal service a significant upgrade, roughly $6 billion to be exact, that could have your local mail carrier delivering your letters and packages in style.
Under Democrats’ Build Back Better Bill, money is allocated for the postal service that will attempt to help electrify the agency’s fleet by the end of the decade.
This would be an ambitious step to decarbonize the federal fleet and make good on President Joe Biden’s promise to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change.
In the U.S., transportation is responsible for 29% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, and postal service trucks compromise one of every three vehicles operated by the federal government outside the pentagon, USA Today reported.
Related
But now, the agency is developing new delivery vehicles that will begin appearing on routes in 2023. The new trucks will be larger and better suited for the USPS’ transition from mainly delivering letters to parcels.
The vehicles have been named “Next Generation Delivery Vehicles” and will be developed under the Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense, known for manufacturing military vehicles.
The contract has already been awarded, but the $6 billion bump from the Build Back Better plan will help speed the production of the trucks up.
Features in the new trucks include 360-degree cameras, air conditioning, advanced braking, airbags, and extras designed to improve safety for drivers and vehicles.
If congress can pass the plan into law, the postal service will be able to use the funding to speed up the manufacturing of the vehicles and get them out on delivery routes even quicker.
