The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced Tuesday an investment into a fleet of approximately 66,000 electric vehicles, made possible in part by a $3 billion congressional contribution from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Typically, the USPS receives zero tax dollars for operating expenses and depends solely on selling postage products and services to fund its operations, according to the news release.
“The U.S. Postal Service plan sets the pace for other leading public and private sector fleets. It is clear that the future of transportation is electric, and that future is here,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, in the release.
The $3 billion congressional contribution breakdown includes $1.3 billion for electric delivery vehicles and $1.7 billion for charging infrastructure, the release states. In addition USPS will invest $6.6 billion. With this the postal service expects to acquire an additional 21,000 battery electric vehicles through 2028, representing a mix of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) vehicles, the release states, and all those delivered from 2026-2028 are expected to be 100% electric
A statement from the White House said this investment means the USPS plan exceeds President Biden’s requirement for each agency to electrify its federal fleet.
“We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so, that is our mission," said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. "As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so."
