Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program

The Postal Service continues to explore alternative fuel technology. The T3, a three-wheel electric delivery vehicle, which runs for pennies a mile, is being tested. The latest generation of a 2-ton hybrid electric van is being tested in Long Island and will join 30 other pure electric vans delivering mail in Manhattan and the Bronx. The use of hybrid electric vehicles and other alternative fuel technologies, along with reducing the size of its fleet, will help to meet the goal of reducing fuel usage by 20 percent over the next five years.

As part of a vehicle purchase by the General Services Administration (GSA), the Postal Service began one-for-one replacements of 6,500 vehicles with 1,000 E-85 ethanol-capable and 900 hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles. The balance of the GSA purchase will be fuel-efficient, four-cylinder vehicles.