One of Australia’s largest commercial vehicle fleet owners is investing heavily in electric vehicles.
Australia Post expects to have about 4000 EVs within three years.
It already has about 2000 electric bikes and around 100 electric delivery vehicles (eDVs) in a fleet of more than 16,000 which includes trucks, vans, motorcycles and bikes.
“Over the last five years we’ve been testing electric vehicles in our last mile delivery fleet to improve the safety of our people and reduce environmental impacts of our fleet,” Australia Post transport and aviation general manager James Dixon says.
“Our scope of work has looked into the use of electric bikes, electric three-wheelers and electric vans – with two electric Renault vans on trial in NSW. We have found that electric bikes and our three-wheel eDVs are safer to operate because they increase the visibility of posties to other road users.”
The eDVs can transport around three times as many parcels as a motorcycle, so posties can carry and deliver more small parcels than ever before, Dixon says.
“Today, more than 40% of all parcel deliveries are completed by our posties. The electric bikes are also easier to manoeuvre than a traditional motorbike, making hard-to-reach letterboxes easier to access.
“Finally, electric vehicles are much quieter, causing less neighbourhood disruption and making it easier for our posties to hear other vehicles while out on the road.”
Dixon says Australia Post continues to investigate the use of electric vans. “It is important to note that when selecting vehicles it’s all about pairing the right vehicle with the right location – we always consider the landscape and demand in a given area.”
