Snow, rain, heat and gloom of night can't stop the nation's mail carriers from completing their appointed rounds. But broken-down delivery trucks can.
Faced with rising maintenance costs for its aging fleet and needing extra cargo space to satisfy the desires of online shoppers, the U.S. Postal Service is asking automakers to bid on a commercial van that would replace the boxy Long Life Vehicle and become the backbone of the service's delivery fleet starting in 2018.
It could be one of the largest fleet purchases ever. According to specifications released to potential bidders Jan. 20, the Postal Service would buy 180,000 vehicles at $25,000 to $35,000 apiece, valuing the contract at $4.5 billion to $6.3 billion.
Brian Renfroe, director of city delivery at the National Association of Letter Carriers union, said the so-called Next-Generation Delivery Vehicle will offer the Postal Service a chance to outfit its delivery fleet with modern amenities such as backup cameras.
"I don't think there is any area of the Postal Service where investment is more needed," Renfroe said. "The parcel business is going to continue to grow with e-commerce. They need to be able to compete and handle the business that's coming, and to do that, they need a vehicle with the capacity to do it."