In late 1999, the United States Postal Service (USPS) which operates the largest and most visible civilian vehicle fleet in the world, awarded possibly the largest contract for electric vehicles in history to the Ford Motor Company. Five hundred vehicles were procured with the option of an additional 5,500 vehicles over a period of several years. With a fleet of 208,000 vehicles burning more than 110 million gallons of fuel each year, the USPS constantly pursue methods to reduce operating costs and air pollution. As the owner of the nation's largest fleet of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), the USPS is committed to the continuing expansion of its AFV fleet and has assumed a strong leadership role in the development and deployment of AFV technologies. Electric vehicles, such as the recently purchased 500 vehicles, are a key part of the deployment of AFV technologies.
This paper describes a collaborative effort between the USPS, Department of Energy (DOE), Ford Motor Co., Baker Electromotive Co., etc. in the preparation, testing and deployment of the 500 Electric Carrier Route Vehicles (ECRVs). Included, as part of this purchase was the design and installation of recharging facility infrastructure at 24 sites. Following first article testing, durability and operator use testing were conducted to assure defined performance specifications were met before acceptance of the vehicles.