The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) began rolling out its new mail trucks to replace the aging fleet. The new delivery vehicles arrived in Athens, Georgia, in late summer 2024 and carriers started using them for their routes shortly after.
Some of the old mail trucks date back to the late 1980s and are on their last legs. There have been recent reports of trucks breaking down, and occasionally catching on fire, while on delivery routes. The older trucks had poor heating and cooling systems and low gas mileage.
The USPS expects to deliver about 27,000 new vehicles to local post offices this year. In total, more than 60,000 delivery trucks will replace the aging vehicles over the next 10 years.
The new mail trucks, built by Oshkosh Defense in South Carolina, are roomier and have air conditioning. They also have safety features such as 360-degree cameras and blind spot monitoring.
A vast majority of the new trucks are electric models. The postmaster general has announced that starting in 2026, the Postal Service will go to all electric when it comes to new purchases.
A deal with the Biden administration provided an additional $3 billion for USPS to make upgrades to its mail network. Some of that funding will be used to set up charging stations for the new delivery vehicles.
