US Postal Service to deliver lower emissions

The US Postal Service has pledged to replace up to 195,000 vehicles in its fleet with zero or low-emission models by 2015.

The organisation, which announced yesterday that it is piloting tests of GM's Chevy Equinox hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle, is hoping to save millions of dollars in fuel costs.

"We have 220,000 vehicles, and we have to buy replacements for 175,000 to 195,000 long-life vehicles," explained Walter O'Tormey, vice president of engineering for the USPS. "They're 20 years old, and the cost would be $3bn to $5bn. We decided to put off that purchase, and what we're doing is exploring other alternatives."

The fuel cell vehicle, which is to be trialled in Irvine, CA, will give the organisation an average fuel efficiency of 50 miles per gallon, O'Tormey said, compared with roughly 12 miles per gallon for its current vehicles.

A one per cent increase in fuel prices adds $8m annually to USPS expenses. Last year's fuel costs totalled $1.7bn, and they are expected to increase by $600m this year.

Range would not be a problem for the vehicles, given that they can travel 150 miles from one filling of hydrogen and the average delivery route for postal workers in the US is just 14 miles long. However, O'Tormey admitted that sourcing and distributing the hydrogen fuel would be a challenge.

"We really need fuel stations," he said. "You have to have the energy infrastructure, and then you need trained technicians. Right now, the infrastructure is so limited that you're limited to California, parts of Westchester County in New York, and DC."

The USPS will take delivery of another hydrogen fuel cell vehicle from GM in the autumn, but it is also considering other technologies. It also hopes to take delivery of a completely electric vehicle from Ford next spring with a view to testing the vehicle in southern California and has been buying ethanol-powered vehicles for some years.