Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, after over a year of public pressure over the Postal Service’s decision to only make 10 percent of its new truck fleet electric, the agency announced it would commit to at least 40 percent of the fleet to be electric.
In April, several environmental groups and over a dozen states took the Postal Service to court over its plan to buy hundreds of thousands of gas-powered trucks.
The public comment period for the Postal Service’s fleet plan has been extended to August 15, and the new public hearing date is August 8.
In response to the announcement, Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, released the following statement:
“Public pressure works, and today’s announcement from the Postal Service is proof of that – the agency’s original plan for a fleet of 90 percent fossil fuel trucks should have never been a consideration. Still, making only half of its delivery fleet electric does not go far enough to address climate change or improve air quality in neighborhoods across the nation. There is also no guarantee in today’s announcement that union workers will be building these pollution-free vehicles. This is an opportunity to transform the postal fleet to be 100 percent union-built electric vehicles. We won’t settle for anything less.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.