Aussie posties go electric

Australia Post is switching to electric delivery vehicles.

It’s starting with two-wheelers and a three-wheeled scooter which can carry three times more letters and parcels than a regular postie motorbike.

The company, which held several small-scale trials of Renault electric delivery vans, has just announced its first Environmental Action Plan for 2018-20.

It aims for a 25% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, based on 2000 levels.

Australia Post has been trialling the Swiss three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles (EDVs) across the country, starting with five vehicles in Hobart in March 2017.

In an email to RenewEconomy, Australia Post confirms more than 100 of the EDVs will be out doing mail runs around the country by the end of the month, as well as more than 1000 electric bikes.

The Swiss EDVs are made by Kyburz and used by postal services in various European countries.

It can reach up to 45km/h, has a range of up to nine hours per full charge and can carry 195kg, or up to 100 small parcels and 1200 letters at a time.

Storage compartments lock automatically when the vehicle is switched off.

More than 100 are now in the postal fleet, and they don’t need an exemption to use footpaths.

The plan outlines on P17 how it is reducing emissions through electric and fuel efficient transport options.

“Many posties have chosen to swap their motorbikes for push bikes and electric bikes over the last few years,” the report says.

“The electric mail bikes provided by eVehicle Service (EVS) allow posties to cover up to 35 kilometres in a day and reach 1,000 delivery points.”