![]() ![]() “It was scary to see,” said Shunstrom, who captured video of the flames on July 24 on her cellphone. By the time someone dialed 911, it had burst into flames. The carrier noticed her vehicle was smoking after delivering a package. She opened her blinds to see her local carrier’s postal truck ablaze in her neighbor’s driveway in Niceville, on the Florida Panhandle. In Florida, Kathleen Shunstrom witnessed one of them going up in flames. There were 19 of them so far this year, including five in July. The Postal Times keeps a running tally along with photos on its website. A postal worker died from a heat stroke earlier this summer during a heat wave in California.įires have become a frequent hazard. Missing are modern safety features like airbags and anti-lock brakes.Ī glaring fault in Maine’s cold winters is inadequate heating.Įven worse is the lack of air conditioning that allows temperatures to soar to dangerous levels inside the vehicles on hot summer days. They’re built on a General Motors chassis with a body provided by Grumman and they’re powered by a four-cylinder engine that was supposed to deliver fuel economy - but in reality provides about 9 miles per gallon (4 kilometers per liter) on stop-and-go routes. Most postal carriers will tell you they weren’t so great even in their prime. The oldest of them have survived about 34 years of grueling use on the daily mail routes from snowy Maine to sunny California. They went into service from 1987 to 1994 with a promise of a 24-year service life. The Grumman Long Life Vehicle delivered on its name. WATCH: Pandemic increases workload, health risks for postal and delivery employees They lack adequate heating and cooling, they deliver poor fuel economy and they’re becoming difficult to maintain. More than 150 of the current vehicles have caught fire. Most workers don’t care which model they get. ![]() “The longer this drags on, the more lives are at risk,” said John Graham, a postal carrier who operates one of the old vehicles in Portland, Maine. That means the delivery of new trucks set for 2023 could be delayed. The primary fleet of vehicles - dating to 1987 - was due to be replaced under a new contract but the winning bid for the new trucks is being challenged. Workhorse's new CEO Rick Dauch said the best way for the company to work with any governmental agency is "through cooperation, not through litigation" as the federal government has announced its intention to replace its fleet with electric vehicles.ĭauch said following the Advanced Clean Transportation show, they are are "excited about the multiple business opportunities ahead for last-mile delivery truck and drone system technologies." He said these opportunities include several commercial industry markets "as well as a broad array of initiatives designed to modernize and electrify government funded and owned vehicle fleets across the country at the federal, state and city level.PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Postal workers thrilled at the prospect of making deliveries in modern, comfortable and environmentally friendly vehicles are soldiering on in their aging, spartan trucks. Constitution, but the Justice Department countered that argument by writing that "Workhorse has forfeited its newfound.challenge by failing to raise it before the Postal Service." Lawyers for the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the Workhorse Group challenge saying the company "admitted failure to exhaust mandatory administrative remedies." Workhorse responded by claiming that the USPS's administrative remedies violated the U.S. The Workhorse bid proposed that the company would build an all-electric vehicle fleet while the winning Oshkosh bid called for meeting the requirement with a mix of internal combustion-powered and electric vehicles. The contract announced back in February could be worth more than $6 billion and calls for the delivery of anywhere from 50,000 to 165,000 vehicles. Workhorse's legal challenge, filed in June, had been set to face arguments before a judge on Wednesday on the U.S. Postal Service’s move to award a multibillion-dollar contract to Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) for delivery vehicles Tuesday. The electric vehicle company, Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS), voluntarily dismissed its legal challenge blocking U.S. #Workhorse usps trial#Claim your 1-week free trial to StreetInsider Premium here. News and research before you hear about it on CNBC and others. ![]()
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