The Hicksville Post Office on Wednesday unveiled the newest addition to its fleet: 57 electric vehicles.
“We are replacing our aging vehicle fleet as part of the $40 billion investment funded by the Delivering for America program,” said Jocelyn Freitas, USPS senior fleet operations specialist.
Freitas said the electric trucks will replace select vehicles in the current fleet, which are over 30 years old.
“These left-hand drive vehicles have already completed more than 6,000 miles on routes right here in Hicksville since being deployed earlier this year,” she said.
The new vehicle was designed to “improve fleet efficiency,” said Freitas.
The Post Office showcased the vehicles, a new sorting machine and a modernized facility at a tour of the Hicksville Sorting and Delivery Center at 185 W. John St.
Improvements to the Hicksville location are a part of the $40 billion plan, which aims to modernize and improve the postal network nationwide.
The plan has already invested $427 million in New York to upgrade facilities and vehicles, according to USPS officials.
“The postal service is making a commitment here in Hicksville and across the nation for upgraded facilities, vehicles, equipment and much more,” said Amy Gibbs, USPS strategic communications specialist.
“This investment is designed to provide [employees] with the state-of-the-art facilities and vehicles enabling them to perform their duties more efficiently and effectively,” said retail and delivery project manager Rocco Privitera.
The fleet’s new addition comes mere months after the small delivery unit sorter arrived at the Hicksville facility.
The new machine sorts around 4,300 packages per hour, which allows the facility to deliver packages faster and more efficiently, according to officials. The USPS has opened 83 sorting and delivery centers in the past two years.
Hicksville is the second Long Island location to receive the unit sorter, Privitera said. Privitera manages Queens and Long Island, and he said the only other Long Island facility that has implemented the sorter is in Huntington.
These facilities demonstrate the USPS’ “commitment to broaden their reach and connect every business to every home,” said Michael Hotetz, national manager for post office modernization.
Hotetz said the USPS services nearly 8 million addresses in the state and employs around 43,000 people.
The $427 million allocated to New York “represents the largest investment in infrastructure of modernization in the history of the U.S. Postal Service,” Gibbs said.
“This investment goes beyond just improving infrastructure. It’s about empowering our employees,” Privitera said.
Officials said the new electric vehicles will enhance employee comfort, safety and efficiency while delivering mail.
The postal service has installed 74 charging stations statewide for the new vehicle. The Hicksville facility has 30 charging posts. Each post is equipped with two chargers, allowing up to 60 vehicles to charge at a time.
“Despite being larger, these new vehicles are more fuel efficient and are expected to have lower maintenance costs,” Jocelyn said.
New features, such as an expanded cargo capacity will “eliminate the need for many second-trips,” Freitas said.
She said the new trucks have almost double the capacity of older trucks, and the aisle space allows a 6’4” carrier to stand.
The left-hand drive feature in the trucks allows carriers to sit on the same side as houses and mailboxes they drive past, which improves safety and efficiency, Gibbs said.
Gibbs said some of the older vehicles do not have air conditioning, which means that the new vehicles will enhance comfort, as well as efficiency.
Freitas said the USPS has a plan to move towards 100% electrification.
She said that the postal service has outlined a plan that would, by 2028, “bring the total number of electric vehicles in our delivery fleet to more than 66,000, representing one of the largest commitments to vehicle electrification in the nation.”
