All the cars need this to happen real badly. They were designed with a 24 year life cycle and are just getting old. Replacing the entire fleet would cost $ 4.2 billion. Is the replacement going to be the only option?
Postal Service and LLVs
LLV stands for Long Life Cars and is the kind of truck the Postal Service uses. The trucks had a 24 year life cycle. The 24 year cycle is about to end. The Postal Service Inspector General has said that, over the next eight years, the Postal Service would spend a lot more repairing the cars than replacing them.
The price of repairing all of the USPS vehicles
In fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Postal Service spent $ 524 million on LLV repair. Generally, repairing the automobiles rather than replacing them has been a good financial decision. The average repair bill that comes for each LLV is about $ 5,600, with some going as high as $ 40,000. The vehicles do not generally require specialized maintenance, although the right-handed driving setup can cause a lot more expensive maintenance at times.
The LLV fleet being replaced
The cost to benefit comparison of continuing to repair the LLV fleet is quickly turning upside down. Within the next eight years, the postal service will actually lose money if it repairs instead of replaces any cars that have a repair bill that cost a lot more than $ 3,500. Straight-across replacement of the full LLV fleet would cost $ 30,000 per truck.
Testing Postal Service automobile alternatives
The alternatives for U.S. Postal Service delivery vehicles are being heavily researched. The USPS has offered a $ 50,000 reward to firms for providing a working prototype of a USPS car by August. Letter carriers in numerous other areas are testing three-wheeled electric vehicles, bicycles, and a lot more traditional minivan-style autos for delivering the mail, rain or shine.
