PLEASE SIGN PETITION FOR USPS TO BUY EV's

[mbender]

USPS is a terrible and terribly run organization

Where does this "bullocks" come from? Where did the antipathy, if not hatred, for the sole agency specifically mentioned in the constitution originate?? Did some group have to wait in line during Christmas to pick up their presents? It does appear to be part of the corrosive privatization-of-all-public services trend which directly or indirectly can tear a country apart (especially one "of, by, and for the people"). And unfortunately, the meme appears to have staying power and might have some self-fulfilling aspects to it. Maybe if we spoke better of public/government employees in general (rather than just to the military, which itself is often not much more than self-interested lip-service), they'd perform even better than they currently do.

but to be fair, one of the reasons why they are losing money is the Post Office has been legally required to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees at a cost of around $5.5 billion a year since 2006 by congress. Congress did this, in part, to reduce the apparent federal deficit...

USPS has been losing money for years

but at least you're aware of this, so thank you for "being fair"!!

Edit: added missing word, 'this'!

 

[Nubo]

Where does "bullocks" come from? Where did the antipathy, if not hatred, for the sole agency specifically mentioned in the constitution originate?? Did some group have to wait in line during Christmas to pick up their presents? It does appear to be part of the corrosive privatization-of-all-public services trend which directly or indirectly can tear a country apart

It came from the realization that the U.S. Postal Service was a large and generally well-liked and trusted symbol of the Federal Government, as described in the 1985 novel "The Postman". If your goal is to destroy trust in government you would quite naturally start directing your propaganda at an enduring symbol of government benevolence.

 

[mbender]

Back on topic (somewhat), here are two interesting "histories" of the USPS and EVs.

• General: 1899(!) - 2013, [pdf]
• Details of the multi-hundred vehicle (and not quite ready for prime time) "ECRV Program": 1999 - 2003(?) [pdf]

Given that non-rural mail delivery would be an ideal use of EVs, I think it's high time that they try again. And if Nissan's e-NV200 ever comes out in the U.S., it might be a perfect candidate vehicle!

 

[abasile]

Where did the antipathy, if not hatred, for the sole agency specifically mentioned in the constitution originate?? Did some group have to wait in line during Christmas to pick up their presents?

I think USPS would do just fine if they were truly allowed to operate as a private company, without government meddling (whether from the right or the left of the political spectrum).

My personal hangups with USPS arise from the fact that they won't include our physical home address in their nationwide address database, which is used by other entities for address verification, and they won't deliver packages (or mail) to our home. Yes, we live in a small, semi-rural town, but so do millions of other Americans who pay the same rates and get their packages delivered. So whenever we are given a choice, we use UPS or FedEx even if they are a bit more expensive. This is not to say we don't like the people at our local PO, as they are generally very pleasant and helpful. But I feel the organization as a whole is less customer service oriented than it could be. The least they could do for customers like us is auto-correlate our physical addresses with our PO boxes, rather than returning to the sender mail that has a physical address and not a PO box.

And as I said previously, it shouldn't have to take a mandate to get USPS to adopt EVs; FedEx and UPS are already doing it.

 

[2k1Toaster]

I think USPS would do just fine if they were truly allowed to operate as a private company, without government meddling (whether from the right or the left of the political spectrum).

And what are they NOT doing just fine now? They seem to work well for the majority of the population.

My personal hangups with USPS arise from the fact that they won't include our physical home address in their nationwide address database, which is used by other entities for address verification, and they won't deliver packages (or mail) to our home. Yes, we live in a small, semi-rural town, but so do millions of other Americans who pay the same rates and get their packages delivered. So whenever we are given a choice, we use UPS or FedEx even if they are a bit more expensive. This is not to say we don't like the people at our local PO, as they are generally very pleasant and helpful. But I feel the organization as a whole is less customer service oriented than it could be. The least they could do for customers like us is auto-correlate our physical addresses with our PO boxes, rather than returning to the sender mail that has a physical address and not a PO box.

Ok so you live in the middle of nowhere and complain that you don't get treated like those that live in cities. That's a choice you made, live with it. The reality is that 80.7% of people live in a city where it works miraculously well. Next day delivery in the same area for 50cents... That's crazy talk. And then most of the people that live in rural areas, are doing just fine with USPS.

Who cares about customer service? As long as it works, I don't want to be friendly with the guy that drops my mail off. I just want my mail.

 

[abasile]

Ok so you live in the middle of nowhere and complain that you don't get treated like those that live in cities. That's a choice you made, live with it.

I live in southern California, 16 miles from a city of 200K people, and the little town I'm in is actually fairly dense. My particular neighborhood is as dense as a city neighborhood (like most neighborhoods up here). EDIT: If USPS were to provide mail delivery to the neighborhoods in my area, BEVs could work nicely, though ideally they'd have AWD.

That said, as I posted above, the least USPS could do is include our physical address in their database and correlate it with our PO box for delivery, instead of returning packages/mail to the sender if addressed to our physical address. That would not be complicated or expensive with today's technology, and it would demonstrate decent customer service. Is this asking too much?

 

[2k1Toaster]

Ok so you live in the middle of nowhere and complain that you don't get treated like those that live in cities. That's a choice you made, live with it.

I live in southern California, 16 miles from a city of 200K people, and the little town I'm in is actually fairly dense. My particular neighborhood is as dense as a city neighborhood (like most neighborhoods up here). EDIT: If USPS were to provide mail delivery to the neighborhoods in my area, BEVs could work nicely, though ideally they'd have AWD.

That said, as I posted above, the least USPS could do is include our physical address in their database and correlate it with our PO box for delivery, instead of returning packages/mail to the sender if addressed to our physical address. That would not be complicated or expensive with today's technology, and it would demonstrate decent customer service. Is this asking too much?

Seems like a very localized problem.

Around here in the rural areas there are either the big panels of many mailboxes at the main entrance up the access road or you get a box at the post office. In 100% of the cases for people I know that use this (at least 6 in my office alone) it is always their road address. They never address things to a PO box, that's just where it ends up. So I believe this is how USPS works. It is also how Canada Post works.

Why your local section of USPS refuses to do this, may be an entirely different question...

 

[LeftieBiker]

Our house used to be part of one parcel that included the oil distribution business next door. When the 911 system assigned us a new address # a few years after we bought the house, the USPS sprang into action, recording the old number in stone, along with the wrong street type ("AVE" instead of "St." They have steadfastly refused to change it in the 15+ years since. That being said, I don't want the USPS replaced with yet another corporation that treats its workers badly and only does what is profitable...

 

[mjblazin]

The USPS used to handle that distinction with Rural Routes or RFDs. i thought that went away with the legal requirements of 911. To my knowledge every residence in America has to have a street address that can be used by emergency services. The USPS may not have to use it. When I lived on an RR, the street address went after the RR#.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I am not sure the rendered image is the right vehicle design, but electric is absolutely the way to go. Much lower energy costs, and much lower maintenance costs.

Almost perfect for mail delivery. Have heated driver seats, and direct heating windshield defrosters - and they will be perfect!

 

[alanlarson]

I am not sure the rendered image is the right vehicle design, but electric is absolutely the way to go. Much lower energy costs, and much lower maintenance costs.

Lower energy costs? Not in California - electricity costs about 30 percent MORE than diesel.

If electric vehicles make sense for USPS, they should be able to buy them, but political pressure from petitions makes no more sense than political pressure from congress folks.

I would sign a petition asking them to ignore this petition.

 

[mbender]

That said, as I posted above, the least USPS could do is include our physical address in their database and correlate it with our PO box for delivery, instead of returning packages/mail to the sender if addressed to our physical address. That would not be complicated or expensive with today's technology, and it would demonstrate decent customer service. Is this asking too much?

Have you asked them (nicely) why they can't, won't or don't do this? It's possible that there are legal/statutory reasons that they cannot do it; I don't know, but I suspect that there is a "valid" reason.

I am in a similar situation, where the PO does not deliver mail, but usually something addressed to my physical address sent to the post office will still be delivered to my POBox. But it usually has the #### with a ? mark after it, as though they are just guessing from name recognition or memory.

So I suspect that if you approach it right, make a good impression and a simple request, that they will make the association and try not to return things to sender if it doesn't require too much effort.

And as far as good customer service, I have seen the employees at our post office bring mail out to customers with disabilities (in their cars) to save them the time and effort of getting out and coming in for it. I have nothing but respect for government employees who deal with the public in person, "on the front lines". Given the diversity and unpredictability of individuals and their particular "issues", it cannot be an easy job.

 

[abasile]

So I suspect that if you approach it right, make a good impression and a simple request, that they will make the association and try not to return things to sender if it doesn't require too much effort.

It isn't just me - this is how USPS treats tens of thousands of residents of the San Bernardino Mountain communities.

Normally, those who live here try to get around the problem by providing both our box number and street address on one line, since the street address is needed if the sender happens to use UPS or FedEx. But from time to time, senders drop the box number, thinking it's superfluous. Some have had traffic or parking tickets mailed to their street address and returned to the sender, only to later find themselves having to fight penalties or deal with warrants.

On some occasions, kind USPS employees up here will take it upon themselves to deliver mail that's missing a box number. But that is not their official policy and cannot be counted on. I wish we could get this changed, but honestly I'm not willing to expend much more effort than writing my Congressman and writing a letter to the local paper, which I've already done.

 

[UBUYGAS]

(sorry for grainy image, not my graphic)

I am not sure the rendered image is the right vehicle design, but electric is absolutely the way to go. Much lower energy costs, and much lower maintenance costs.

Lower energy costs? Not in California - electricity costs about 30 percent MORE than diesel.

If electric vehicles make sense for USPS, they should be able to buy them, but political pressure from petitions makes no more sense than political pressure from congress folks.

I would sign a petition asking them to ignore this petition.

 

[kikngas]

I support your point about how far you can go with so much energy, but I feel that to be fair, you have to consider what form the energy it in. Electricity is often the result of an inefficient combustion and turbine process and then delivered across a grid with another 10% (give or take) loss. Then to use it to charge an electric car it undergoes an AC to DC conversion in a charging process that produces some wasted heat (lost energy). So if your 10kWh of energy is in the form of coal, you are not going to get 40 miles in an EV. Oh, I guess the graphic says Km, not mi. Much closer than my first thought.

But my point is that we can't cherry pick the form of the energy. I think the way to get people thinking about it is to point out that refining a barrel of oil means boiling it. And they can start to picture the energy required to boil an entire barrel of oil. And then to say that with the energy consumed by boiling that barrel to distill your gallon of gas is enough for my LEAF to go more than 10 miles. And I'm figuring the 10 miles by taking some 8kWh of energy in the form of coal, burning it in a coal plant that is only 35% efficient, delivering it across a grid that has a 10% loss, and charging my LEAF with a converter that has a 5-10% loss as well. From there, the EV can travel even further when you consider the energy used to ship the oil from Saudi Arabia, and pipeline it to the refinery, and truck it to the local gas station and pump it from from the underground tanks. And when you start to compound the energy used in the fuels of the cargo ship and the fuel truck and the electricity to pump through the pipelines and gas pumps, you just keep getting further and further in your LEAF.

I wish the post office would use EVs. Would seem a vehicle has room and could be designed with various battery sizes for various route ranges. Would seem the truck probably has a period of time for lunch where it could be charging. The stop-and-go nature of the business would be much better with regen. And you'd think anyone with a fleet of that size would appreciate the savings in both fuel and maintenance costs over an extended period of time. It would really go a long way to general population considering EVs.

 

[dhanson865]

(sorry for grainy image, not my graphic)

I am not sure the rendered image is the right vehicle design, but electric is absolutely the way to go. Much lower energy costs, and much lower maintenance costs.

Lower energy costs? Not in California - electricity costs about 30 percent MORE than diesel.
.

Here in TN I pay 10 cents per kWh ($0.10 / kwh) and about $2.50 for gas. At that ratio driving the Prius costs me twice as much per mile vs driving the Leaf.

It doesn't matter how much power I use, I'll always get 10 cent rates. In fact since there is a fixed monthly charge my effective rate drops slightly the more I use.

Googling San Bernardino I see something like $3.25 for gas and tiered rates for electric. All it takes is for electricity to cost him more than 26 cents per kWh and he is better off short term buying gas.