ben blumenrose
david robertsI just want to reiterate that this fucking rules.
Unironically: thanks, Biden.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/20/usps-ev-vehicles/
If you want to know why this rules, read this piece I wrote back in 2020 about the many, many benefits of electrifying USPS vehicles. https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/4/22/21229132/usps-coronavirus-electrify-postal-trucks
How many US communities receive visits from USPS mail trucks?
All of them.
How many US communities will see a reduction in noise & particulate pollution from this policy?
All of them.
How many Americans who have never seen an EV in person will now get to witness one working? How many will hear about those new EVs from the proud USPS employees driving them, or see them parked by chargers at the post office?
Final thing: by 2026, USPS expects to be buying EVs exclusively. From there, the speed of turnover will depend on the cost of vehicles. My prediction is that scaling up will push costs down & accelerate uptake, in a virtuous feedback loop.
The one thing that could slow it down is that post offices will need to be outfitted with charging, including out on rural routes, and that will require competent administration of the USPS. A Republican president in 2024 could easily ratfuck the whole thing.
Dan B.@drvolts 😞 bubble on verge of bursting
Wub-Fur Internet Radio
otrochris@drvolts i love that this policy will have an (un)intended effect of encouraging charging stations in many many more communities.
TransitBiker@otrochris @drvolts nope. Only the postal depots.
@TransitBiker @drvolts ya that’s what i mean. That’s WAY more thsn currently exist.
@otrochris @drvolts The 3 phase power that most postal depots were built with to run the sorting machines is not common, though. New builds in some area will be quite expensive. Mind share increases will help for sure, but money is money & tearing up stuff to install the transformers etc a whole other thing. It’ll have to happen eventually, though.
Grumble@drvolts Remember when first class mail meant "air mail"?
Our parents had a better mail system than we do. Our grandparents had a better system still.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_System
Fight Fascism
🏴☠️🌻TurboKitty🌻🏴☠️🇵🇸@drvolts My husband is driving one that's on its last legs. No heat in the winter and we get temps in the low 20sF and no air in the summer, with temps as high as 118F. I think it's cruel and unusual punishment for postal workers to be treated this way.
Theurv 🏳️🌈@drvolts and for over a decade the costs of maintenance have been greater than fuel for most of the trucks… they’re long past their expected lifespan
Str8nger@drvolts 10 m/p/g??? 😱🤯 Now that’s a crime!
Helchose@drvolts I really enjoyed some of the conversations I've had on Facebook about this news today
Flaming Cheeto@drvolts how bout throwing a couple pubic fast chargers at the post office too.
whetstone@drvolts This also feels like it could help push expanding charging station infrastructure, which is really the main barrier to me getting an EV (no garage = big hurdle)
@whetstone @drvolts No it won’t, because postal delivery vehicles run on fixed local routes and sit idle for a large portion of the day at their local depot. Same with school buses. It’s not the same at all as private vehicles for personal use. Long-distance coaches and long haul semi trucks will likely need to use some sort of overhead line for power & switch to a smaller battery for endpoints. Transit agencies should go for trolley buses.
Fanua 🌐@drvolts I'm sure you mean in U.S. states and such. We don't have USPS mail trucks in American Samoa, PO boxes only. We don't have a home address system (no house numbers, most roads are not named).
Robin 
Cmm1066@drvolts Yes!!!
DB Schwein@drvolts
Yay for all of this!
I'm curious if this is also a sign that Dejoy is exiting the "How can we privatize it?" train, and is now on board the "How do we make it better?" train.
Or is that wishful thinking?
Yay for all of this!
I'm curious if this is also a sign that Dejoy is exiting the "How can we privatize it?" train, and is now on board the "How do we make it better?" train.
Or is that wishful thinking?
Meryem Fuat@drvolts Very surprising that DeJoy came around. I'm not sure he deserves any of the WP's implied praise. You're right - thanks to President Biden, this is a huge win for the country.
MHRev 👹🤡@Meryem_Fuat @drvolts DeJoy is such an asshat. He awards an EV delivery van contract to The Military Industrial Complex, aka Oshkosh. Let's all hope this new development actually comes to fruition. USPS is not particularly known for its "nimbleness".
@drvolts This was some of the best news we've gotten in months, I am just absolutely giddy about this and looking forward to seeing an EV mail vehicle parked in front of my house.
It also demonstrates the utility of EVs nationwide and raises their profile in the public eye. I'm still fending off really silly misinformation about EVs from people in public Facebook threads. That will end in the coming years I expect.
@drvolts I am going to tell you right now that by 2030 most deliveries & cargo will be transported over land by some sort of electric propulsion. The technology is actually here today. All that we need to do is adopt it.
Prof Matt Hannon@drvolts classic example of how public organisations can pump prime emerging markets: 1) lending them legitimacy, 2) helping to support positive feedbacks (eg learning effects, economics of scale, adaptive expectations etc) and finally, 3) supporting market formation and demand pull.
This really is great news for electrification of LGVs.
New Goliath@drvolts where they getting all that lithium?
Dig a little bit and you'll see the CIA in Latin America.