Key West Letter Carrier Taran Edge delivers her route with a smile --- and a ride on the T-3.As regional tensions and political uncertainty in Northern Africa and the Middle East continue to increase, so do crude oil prices and the cost of gasoline. The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline hit $3.54 last week, according to AAA.
To cope with pain at the pump, many Americans are able to modify their commuting and driving habits, combine multiple shopping errands into one trip and simply eliminate non-essential driving. Not so for the Postal Service.
Each day the Postal Service is committed to serving more than 150 million delivery points, along more than 230,000 routes, six days a week. To collect, transport, and dispatch the mail, the postal fleet of more than 215,000 owned vehicles logs some four million miles per day. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Postal Service’s fuel bill for all transportation — street, highway, and air — totaled $1.7 billion, for 650 million gallons of fuel.
A one-cent rise in fuel prices increases Postal Service costs by $6.5 million annually, or $540,000 a month. If gasoline prices were to rise 57 cents, from current levels to their July 2008 all-time high average of $4.11, USPS fuel costs would increase by almost $31 million per month.
Another threat posed by increasing energy costs would be the economic squeeze placed on American businesses to reduce their costs wherever possible, including use of the mail. During the recent recession, the Postal Service experienced significant declines in mail volume and revenue. The Postal Service would be negatively impacted if the U.S. economy slips significantly again due to spikes in fuel prices.
While the Postal Service continues to seek congressional approval to reduce delivery frequency to five days per week — a move expected to save about $3 billion per year — the Postal Service for years has been aggressively pursuing technologies to promote sustainability and reduce its dependency on foreign oil.
The Postal Service operates the world’s largest fleet of alternative fuel-capable vehicles — more than 40,000 — that can use fuels such as electricity, ethanol, compressed natural gas and bio-diesel. Two-ton electric vehicles have been delivering mail in New York City since 2001, and three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles are being tested in Florida, California and Arizona.
The Postal Service also is testing hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles, whose only emissions are pure water, and is working with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop prototype electric vehicles.
For more information about our alternative fuel vehicles and technologies, go to usps.com/green and the green newsroom.
To cope with pain at the pump, many Americans are able to modify their commuting and driving habits, combine multiple shopping errands into one trip and simply eliminate non-essential driving. Not so for the Postal Service.
Each day the Postal Service is committed to serving more than 150 million delivery points, along more than 230,000 routes, six days a week. To collect, transport, and dispatch the mail, the postal fleet of more than 215,000 owned vehicles logs some four million miles per day. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Postal Service’s fuel bill for all transportation — street, highway, and air — totaled $1.7 billion, for 650 million gallons of fuel.
A one-cent rise in fuel prices increases Postal Service costs by $6.5 million annually, or $540,000 a month. If gasoline prices were to rise 57 cents, from current levels to their July 2008 all-time high average of $4.11, USPS fuel costs would increase by almost $31 million per month.
Another threat posed by increasing energy costs would be the economic squeeze placed on American businesses to reduce their costs wherever possible, including use of the mail. During the recent recession, the Postal Service experienced significant declines in mail volume and revenue. The Postal Service would be negatively impacted if the U.S. economy slips significantly again due to spikes in fuel prices.
While the Postal Service continues to seek congressional approval to reduce delivery frequency to five days per week — a move expected to save about $3 billion per year — the Postal Service for years has been aggressively pursuing technologies to promote sustainability and reduce its dependency on foreign oil.
The Postal Service operates the world’s largest fleet of alternative fuel-capable vehicles — more than 40,000 — that can use fuels such as electricity, ethanol, compressed natural gas and bio-diesel. Two-ton electric vehicles have been delivering mail in New York City since 2001, and three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles are being tested in Florida, California and Arizona.
The Postal Service also is testing hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles, whose only emissions are pure water, and is working with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop prototype electric vehicles.
For more information about our alternative fuel vehicles and technologies, go to usps.com/green and the green newsroom.
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