Whole Travel Blog

Who owns one of the world’s largest vehicle fleets? Here’s a hint: it’s not Google or even Nascar. It’s the United States Postal Service, purveyors of your daily mail and walkers (er…drivers) of mail routes nationwide. With a fleet of aging, fuel-inefficient automobiles, the USPS recently announced a huge undertaking: replacing 6,500 vehicles with more efficient vehicles, including 900 hybrids and 1,000 alternative fuel vehicles.

Reducing the carbon footprint of your snail mail

The USPS currently has well over 200,000 vehicles in its fleet, so this is only a small percentage of the overall picture, but it is hopefully a proof of concept for the government agency that going green is the way to be.

Back in November 2008, FedEx Express announced a plan to purchase vehicles that combine Azure Dynamics’s hybrid system with a Ford gasoline engine and chassis. Last Thursday, the Hybrid Truck User Forum sponsored an event in Washington, DC, fittingly called: “Hybrid on the Hill Day.” This event featured 17 medium- and heavy-duty commercial hybrid trucks with participants including FedEx Express, Mack, Peterbilt, Freightliner and Kenworth.

FedEx Express already uses hybrids in city fleets.

The event on Capitol Hill took place next to the Capitol Reflecting Pool with speakers addressing the benefits of hybrids for the commercial trucking industry and how to roll-out hybrid fleets in a rough economy. Duke University also released a report on the hybrid truck sector and how it could impact the industry going forward.