The U.S. Postal Service has launched the first conversion of a mail-delivery van into a hybrid-electric vehicle. The van will be monitored in regular service—delivering mail to Boston-area homes and businesses—to determine its potential for emissions reduction and fuel-economy improvements.
“As an agency that delivers mail to 145 million businesses and households six days a week, drives approximately 1.1 billion miles a year, and consumes more than 125 million gallons of motor fuel annually, we are in a unique position to demonstrate to the public and other businesses the growing viability and positive environmental and energy-savings benefits of alternate-fuel technologies,” said Walter O’Tormey, Vice President, Engineering, U.S. Postal Service.
The van was converted by Azure Dynamics Incorporated, Boston, a developer of electric and hybrid-electric powertrain systems. Based on the company’s other hybrid applications, and depending on the vehicle and its duty cycle, Azure officials expect fuel-economy improvements to be in the range of 30 to 50 percent.
The Postal Service has been testing alternate-fuel vehicles for several years now. In fact, it operates the largest alternative-fuel fleet in the nation—30,000 vehicles. The fleet includes compressed-natural gas, propane, ethanol, biodiesel, and electric vehicles.
“We expect hybrid delivery trucks to significantly improve our nation’s fuel economy and reduce our reliance on foreign oil,” said O’Tormey. “That’s why this innovation is so important to us, and why we want to share our experiences with the public.”
Due to the size of the Postal Service network, every penny increase in the price of fuel costs the agency an additional $8 million a year.