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https://apnews.com/article/postal-service-next-generation-delivery-vehicle-a2ebbfc7afec0eea2e036eef93bee4d9>
"ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The Postal Service’s new delivery vehicles aren’t going to
win a beauty contest. They’re tall and ungainly. The windshields are vast.
Their hoods resemble a duck bill. Their bumpers are enormous.
“You can tell that (the designers) didn’t have appearance in mind,” postal
worker Avis Stonum said.
Odd appearance aside, the first handful of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles
that rolled onto postal routes in August in Athens, Georgia, are getting rave
reviews from letter carriers accustomed to cantankerous older vehicles that
lack modern safety features and are prone to breaking down — and even catching
fire.
Within a few years, the fleet will have expanded to 60,000, most of them
electric models, serving as the Postal Service’s primary delivery truck from
Maine to Hawaii.
Once fully deployed, they’ll represent one of the most visible signs of the
agency’s 10-year, $40 billion transformation led by Postmaster General Louis
DeJoy, who’s also renovating aging facilities, overhauling the processing and
transportation network, and instituting other changes.
The current postal vehicles — the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, dating to 1987 —
have made good on their name, outlasting their projected 25-year lifespan. But
they’re well overdue for replacement.
Noisy and fuel-inefficient (9 mpg), the Grummans are costly to maintain.
They’re scalding hot in the summer, with only an old-school electric fan to
circulate air. They have mirrors mounted on them that — when perfectly aligned
— allow the driver to see around the vehicle, but the mirrors constantly get
knocked out of alignment. Alarmingly, nearly 100 of the vehicles caught fire
last year, imperiling carriers and mail alike.
The new trucks are being built with comfort, safety and utility in mind by
Oshkosh Defense in South Carolina."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
