Disclaimer! Ruralinfo.net is not sponsored or authorized by the NRLCA, the USPS or any state or local association. Click here to read full disclaimer

USPS’ long-awaited new mail truck makes its debut to rave reviews from carriers

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.

Hot this week

USPS covers a lot of ground

In the 250 years since its inception, the Postal...

This rural carrier found a 96-year-old man who had fallen on the ice

Rural Carrier Patricia “Patti” Durrell was delivering mail last...

Census Bureau to Test Using Postal Workers as Census Takers in 2030 Field Trials Next Year

The Census Bureau plans to use U.S. postal workers as census...

Postal Service not affected by a government shutdown

U.S. Postal Service operations will not be interrupted in...

RCA passes away after accident on the route

A Richmond postal carrier was critically injured last week...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img
Secret Link