By Michael Levenson
For nearly two decades, Richard Burton, a letter carrier in Athens, Georgia, relied on the classic boxy mail vehicle, equipped with just a fan on the dashboard to keep the interior cool during the scorching summer heat. He mentioned that a secondary fan plugged into the cigarette lighter offered little relief.
However, about two months ago, the 46-year-old Burton became one of the initial letter carriers in the U.S. to receive a long-anticipated update: a new electric mail truck equipped with air conditioning, a 360-degree camera, and a side sliding cargo door that enables the unloading of parcels directly onto the sidewalk.
“It simplifies the job since you’re not sweating profusely outside,” he remarked. “And in Georgia, you can imagine how extreme the heat gets.”
The new mail vehicles, a decade in development, have begun to make their way into American neighborhoods, and early feedback from letter carriers has been favorable. Numerous carriers have lamented the constant breakdowns and oppressive heat of the older mail trucks introduced in the 1980s, as climate change intensifies temperature extremes. Many have noted the rear cargo area is so limited that they must crouch to retrieve packages.
The Next Generation Delivery Vehicle offers significant long-overdue enhancements. Nonetheless, its design has not received unanimous praise. It features a substantial windshield and a low hood designed to ensure drivers of varying heights can easily see the road. One automobile enthusiast on YouTube labeled it “ugly by design.” Ezra Dyer, a columnist for Car and Driver, took it a step further, referring to the truck as a “visual abomination.”
“It resembles a robotic Beluga whale — crafted by the East German government,” he wrote in 2021 after the design was unveiled. “It also brings to mind the baseball bullpen golf carts styled like motorized baseball caps.”
Burton mentioned that residents along his route have been stopping to snap photos and inquire about peeking inside.
“I realize many people think it looks quirky,” he noted. “It resembles a duck or a platypus. It truly does. But I assure them it performs well. It works for me.”
Supporters assert that the design simply requires some acclimatization.
“It appears absolutely absurd at first glance,” said Douglas Lape, a special assistant to the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, representing 205,000 postal delivery personnel. “But I assure you, it grows on you.”
The new mail trucks are a key component of the Postal Service’s initiative to invest $9.6 billion to rejuvenate its aging fleet of delivery vehicles, making them more efficient, safer, and better suited for parcel delivery.
The Postal Service placed an order for 50,000 of these new trucks in March 2022, according to Oshkosh Defense, the Wisconsin-based company awarded the contract to manufacture the vehicles at a facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
One month later, attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia, along with five environmental organizations and the United Auto Workers union, filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service, arguing that the majority of the new trucks would operate on gasoline, undermining efforts to combat climate change.
In December 2022, the Postal Service shifted its strategy and revealed that 75% of the new mail trucks would be battery-operated.
These trucks are designed to cover around 70 miles on a single charge, which is significantly more than the 12 to 15 miles of daily travel typically undertaken by city letter carriers, including numerous stops, as noted by Lape.
Brian L. Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, stated that the new trucks offer several benefits over the outgoing Grumman Long Life Vehicle. In addition to air conditioning — possibly the most essential upgrade — the new models provide increased cargo capacity, as letter carriers have seen a substantial rise in package deliveries compared to letters and magazines since the 1980s.
The side cargo door of the new mail vehicles is also safer, Renfroe pointed out, allowing for package unloading directly onto the curb. In contrast, the old mail trucks required loading from the back, leading to postal workers suffering injuries or fatalities from oncoming vehicles, he explained.
Planning for these new vehicles commenced in 2014 when the Postal Service began seeking input from letter carriers. Various suggestions from them were included in the final design, such as nonslip surfaces, illuminated doorsteps, and an additional sun visor for the windshield.
The trucks also feature airbags, automatic emergency braking, and a collision-avoidance system — safety elements that have become standard in many modern vehicles yet were absent in the previous models.
Letter carriers who are accustomed to the old delivery vehicles may need some time to adapt to the new trucks.
Ykeyler Barnes, a letter carrier in Athens, shared that when she first got her electric mail truck, she thought it wasn’t functioning when she pressed the start button. So, she called a mechanic for assistance.
“He informed me, ‘It starts — you just can’t hear it since it’s electric,’” Barnes recounted. “I found that quite humorous. I returned home and shared the laugh with my family.”
She mentioned that driving a larger truck required some adjustment.
However, Barnes, who has spent 26 years delivering mail, expressed her appreciation for the air conditioning and the extra cargo space, which allows her to walk inside the truck to retrieve packages without bending down. She predicted that her fellow letter carriers would similarly appreciate the increased space for packages, especially during the holiday peak.
“You’ll need to get acclimated,” she stated. “But once you get through that adjustment period, you’ll really enjoy it.”
