WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that it will procure a delivery fleet composed of at least 40% electric vehicles after suffering a strong public backlash for its initial stance of contracting a 90% gas-powered vehicle fleet—which sparked a Congressional investigation and legal challenges.
In response, Joe Britton, Executive Director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), released the following statement:
“Public pressure is working. When the Postal Service tried to justify a mere 10% electric delivery fleet, Congress, the Postal Service’s own inspector general, ZETA, and our coalition partners pressed the Postal Service to do better. Today’s commitment to acquire at least a 40% electric fleet shows that the Postal Service understands the strategic disadvantage it would create for itself if it were to just rely on gas-powered vehicles for decades to come. But this plan means the majority of the postal fleet will still run on gasoline, for which there is no reasonable justification.
“We look forward to seeing the concrete details of the Postal Service’s electrification plans. Delivery services throughout the country and around the world are electrifying their fleets, and the Postal Service will lock in a competitive disadvantage if it does not electrify rapidly. We hope that the Postal Service will continue to reevaluate these plans and move quickly toward electrifying the vast majority of its delivery fleet.
“Fleet electrification will deliver massive climate, economic and health benefits to the American people—and provide significant cost savings to the Postal Service itself. ZETA will continue to advocate for Postal Service electrification until we get the job done.”
About ZETA
The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is a federal coalition focused on advocating for 100% EV sales by 2030. ZETA is committed to enacting policies that drive EV adoption, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing leadership, drastically improve public health, and significantly reduce carbon pollution.
