https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/us/usps-new-mail-trucks.html Skip to contentSkip to site index U.S. Today's Paper U.S.|Yes, It 'Looks Like a Duck,' but Carriers Like the New Mail Truck https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/us/usps-new-mail-trucks.html * Share full article * * Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Yes, It 'Looks Like a Duck,' but Carriers Like the New Mail Truck The electric trucks have a side cargo door, more space and, critically, air-conditioning, promising some long-overdue relief for carriers, who haven't had an upgrade since the 1980s. Listen to this article * 5:50 min Learn more * Share full article * * A mail carrier sits behind the wheel of a delivery truck as he places mail in a curbside mailbox. "I know a lot of people say it looks funny," Richard Burton, a letter carrier in Athens, Ga., said of his new electric delivery truck. "It looks like a duck or a platypus. It does. But I tell them it gets the job done. It works for me."Credit...David Walter Banks for The New York Times Michael Levenson By Michael Levenson Nov. 26, 2024Updated 4:46 p.m. ET For 19 years, Richard Burton, a letter carrier in Athens, Ga., drove the classic boxy mail truck, with only a fan on the dashboard to keep the cabin cool in the sweltering summer months. A second fan plugged into the cigarette lighter didn't make much of a difference, he said. But about two months ago, Mr. Burton, 46, became one of the first letter carriers in the United States to get a long-awaited upgrade: a new electric mail truck with air-conditioning, a 360-degree camera and a sliding cargo door on the side that allows the unloading of packages directly onto the sidewalk. "It makes the job easier to do because you're not sweating bullets out there," he said. "And in Georgia, you can imagine how hot it gets." The new mail trucks -- 10 years in the making -- have started rolling into American neighborhoods, and the early reviews from letter carriers are positive. Many have complained for years that the mail trucks they have been driving, which were introduced in the 1980s, break down frequently and are stiflingly hot, as climate change pushes temperatures to greater extremes. The rear cargo space is so small, they say, that they have to crouch inside to grab packages. Image Mr. Burton adjusts the air conditioning in his Next Generation Delivery Vehicle. His previous truck was equipped only with a dashboard fan to keep him cool in the sweltering Georgia summers. Credit...David Walter Banks for The New York Times Image After the Postal Service was sued over its plans to make most of the new trucks gas-powered, it reversed course in 2022 and said that 75 percent of the vehicles would be electric.Credit...David Walter Banks for The New York Times Image The Postal Service began soliciting ideas for the new trucks from its carriers a decade ago. Some of their suggestions, such as nonslip surfaces and doorstep lights, were incorporated into the final design.Credit...David Walter Banks for The New York Times We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Site Index Site Information Navigation * (c) 2024 The New York Times Company * NYTCo * Contact Us * Accessibility * Work with us * Advertise * T Brand Studio * Your Ad Choices * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * Terms of Sale * Site Map * Canada * International * Help * Subscriptions * Manage Privacy Preferences