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The Postal Service constantly looks for ways to reduce the environmental impact of its aging delivery fleet, which delivers to an average of a million more addresses every year. This year the fleet used 147.8 million gallons of gasoline equivalent (GGE), including 145.6 million GGE of petroleum fuel and 2.2 million GGE of non-petroleum fuel. This represents a 3 percent increase in GGE of petroleum used, but a 1 percent reduction in GGE of petroleum used per delivery point against a 2005 baseline.
The Postal Service operates more than 44,000 alternative fuel-capable vehicles, the world’s largest fleet. These vehicles use ethanol, compressed natural gas, liquid propane, electricity and bio-diesel. The Postal Service is also testing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Since 2005, the use of alternative fuels has increased 133 percent. Among the many initiatives it is pursuing, the Postal Service is working with the Department of Energy on electric vehicle prototypes, biodiesel tractors and cargo vans, and fuel economy reporting for fuel cell vehicles.
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