Radical Changes: How the New Vehicle Will Be Used by the US Postal Service
The US Postal Service has unveiled its next-generation delivery vehicle. Delivery of mail and parcels is scheduled to begin in 2023.
The fleet of vehicles of the USPS (United States Postal Service) has remained intact for many years, the vehicles used for the delivery of correspondence are the Grumman LLV, a model that has a on the right to make it easier for Drivers reach out and place mail in curbside mailboxes. However, they also have few amenities, such as air conditioning.
This fleet of 200,000 vehicles has been around longer than smartphones, online stores, social media, streaming services or Google. Approximately 70% of them are between the ages of 25 and years.
Maintenance to be done
On Tuesday, February 23, the US Postal Service revealed a contact for its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, or NGDV. And when they start hitting the road in 2023, they may take some getting used to.
USPS has taken an important step towards investing in its future by awarding a contract to produce a next generation delivery vehicle. The vehicle award is part of a 10-year plan to improve customer service, achieve financial stability, and better support postal workers.
— United States Postal Service (@USPS)
The new van has a low engine bay and hood, as well as a very high windshield. It looks like a duck's head, with a beak. The back is high enough for a postman to stand on.
What security features does the new mail van have?
It also has safety features not found in many modern cars, including, believe it or not, airbags that are standard on virtually all cars today.
They will also feature reversing cameras, forward collision warnings, automatic front and rear braking, blind-spot detectors and, to the relief of postmen come summer, air conditioning.
The vehicles will have more cargo space than current cars, allowing more packages to be delivered, a growing and profitable part of the business, instead of traditional letters, a segment that is shrinking.
Many of the NGDVs will be electric vehicles, though not all. Since electric vehicles are changing at a rapid pace and cars are designed to last for decades, the contract requires electric versions to be able to adapt to keep up with developments.
The rest will be traditional high-performance gasoline engines. The exact combination of electric vehicles and internal combustion engines has not been established. But the mixture has already drawn criticism from environmentalists.
“USPS NGDVs should be electrified as a matter of urgency,” said Robbie Diamond, president of Securing America's Future Energy, or SAFE. “This contract is a golden opportunity to stimulate the domestic electric vehicle market and supply chain, and the commitment to electrify the NGDV would provide a clear incentive for further development of the domestic electric vehicle industry,” he added.
Vehicles have also been in operation for many years. USPS has been working on the project with potential suppliers since 2016.
The contract, announced Tuesday, was awarded to Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corp. Under the contract, the company will build from 50,000 to 165,000 vehicles over the course of the years. Initially, he will receive a million dollars to initiate engineering work to finalize the design of a production car, as well as tools and plant construction work that are needed before the production of the car.
The amount of the contract for the actual purchase of the production version of the cars has not yet been set, but it will almost certainly be a multi-billion dollar deal.
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