5 ms·

> In shipping and logistics, time is money. Fuel can be dispensed in the US at a maximum of 10 gal/minute. Factor that against the largest charger you can find

> In shipping and logistics, time is money. Fuel can be dispensed in the US at a maximum of 10 gal/minute. Factor that against the largest charger you can find and see why the single cost difference doesn't matter yet. You charge the mail trucks overnight, when they aren't being driven. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a postman out in the evening or nighttime. I also don't know about you, but I don't stand next to my car when I charge it at a rapid charger. (I stop where I can run an errand or use the bathroom.) In comparison, it takes time to get gas. You have to go out of your way to get to the gas station, go up to the pump, pay for it, and then get back on your way. It always takes me 5-10 minutes to get gas. So, time being money, what makes the most sense is to install a charger at every parking space that a mail truck occupies overnight, and getting rid of the trips to the gas station. The time it takes to plug the car in is negligible.

frosted-flakes 4y ago
No one is claiming electrification isn't practical for mail delivery vans. The grandparent comments are discussing long-haul trucking.
- hackernewds 4y ago
  This a post about USPS delivering? Grandparent comments are off topic
  - redundantly 4y ago
    USPS also does long haul.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - vonmoltke 4y ago
      USPS generally contracts out long-haul.
    - thinkcontext 4y ago
      The 9,250 vehicles the article discusses are for local delivery.
- Retric 4y ago
  Long haul trucking is solved by electrifying US highways. Trains can charge from overhead lines at 200+MPH doing the same for trucks at highway speeds is relatively trivial and allows for on trip charging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road An EV semi with a relatively modest 100 mile range battery easily solves the last mile problem off highways while weighing the same as a traditional ICE engine + fuel.
  - thepasswordis 4y ago
    >this is relatively trivial No it is not.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - Retric 4y ago
      Why do you assume that? We were doing this 100 years ago for inner city trolly’s. Trains travel 3x the speed of highway trucks, vastly higher power draw, and we solved that decades ago. There’s even been successful demos of actual highway trucks and power delivery. With modern battery technology we don’t even need a continuous system just enough to keep trucks topped off on highways so maintenance is easy and existing automated toll lanes even cover billing. So, yes it really is trivial as shown by how cheap existing demo’s have been.
      - pm_me_your_quan 4y ago
        e.g., the system deployed in Germany: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg&t=193s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg&t=193s
  - Reubachi 4y ago
    C'mon guys. "Relatively trivial" is not the two words I would use to describe electrifying highway grids. And to convert road vehicles to conduct off that highway? The words I would use to describe/implement that is "Absolute Taxpayer Aversion". Billions and billions in R&D with no guarantee of adoption and likely greater operating costs for 10s of reasons.(Maintenance, contract costs, accidents, teething. Many counties, even liberal ones, in the US still have dirt roads. In western ireland it's about half the roads are dirt that I saw. If we can't figue out laying concrete at scale, how can we accomplish this "trivially"?
b112 4y ago
You have to go out of your way to get to the gas station, go up to the pump, pay for it, and then get back on your way. It always takes me 5-10 minutes to get gas. Wow. Gas stations are everywhere, conveniently located, and always on route to some place or another. The mental gymnastics employed, to try to make this seem arduous, does not make for a compelling argument.
- zirgs 4y ago
  Many rural areas have no gas stations nearby, but they do have electricity. So it's now actually more practical to have an EV in those places.
  - yurishimo 4y ago
    Only if you don't need to travel further than your available range in a single day. While gas stations might be less common, there are still way more of them than high powered electric chargers. Having an electric vehicle is not useful if the only "fast" charging available to you as a consumer is a 240v hookup at your home (and you need to drive long distances regularly).
    - oluwie 4y ago
      USPS trucks that deliver mail aren't driving more than 100 miles (rarely) a day. I'm pretty sure these trucks can be on a 2-3 day recharge cycle and still have plenty of juice left even if they don't hit those recharge cycles.
- smileysteve 4y ago
  Conveniently, gas stations also have small commercial electric, and in some localities are partnering with utilities to provide high speed charging. (solves the street parking and no high amp service issues) Gas stations also have large flat roofs that some are putting solar panels on top of.
  - starkd 4y ago
dsfyu404ed 4y ago
>You have to go out of your way to get to the gas station, go up to the pump, pay for it, and then get back on your way. It always takes me 5-10 minutes to get gas. Almost everybody consuming a "your local post office" volume of fuel has a tank and pump to dispense with on site. That said, consumer shipping has enough regularity that it lends itself well to electrification and electrifying any given class of vehicle in that industry should pencil out a little sooner than the equivalent vehicle in general.
tootie 4y ago
I know it's been talked about a lot and never really implemented, but if you've got a fleet of identical vehicles, then doing battery swaps should be possible and practical.

frosted-flakes 4y ago

No one is claiming electrification isn't practical for mail delivery vans. The grandparent comments are discussing long-haul trucking.

hackernewds 4y ago
This a post about USPS delivering? Grandparent comments are off topic
- redundantly 4y ago
  USPS also does long haul.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - vonmoltke 4y ago
    USPS generally contracts out long-haul.
  - thinkcontext 4y ago
    The 9,250 vehicles the article discusses are for local delivery.
Retric 4y ago
Long haul trucking is solved by electrifying US highways. Trains can charge from overhead lines at 200+MPH doing the same for trucks at highway speeds is relatively trivial and allows for on trip charging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road An EV semi with a relatively modest 100 mile range battery easily solves the last mile problem off highways while weighing the same as a traditional ICE engine + fuel.
- thepasswordis 4y ago
  >this is relatively trivial No it is not.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Retric 4y ago
    Why do you assume that? We were doing this 100 years ago for inner city trolly’s. Trains travel 3x the speed of highway trucks, vastly higher power draw, and we solved that decades ago. There’s even been successful demos of actual highway trucks and power delivery. With modern battery technology we don’t even need a continuous system just enough to keep trucks topped off on highways so maintenance is easy and existing automated toll lanes even cover billing. So, yes it really is trivial as shown by how cheap existing demo’s have been.
    - pm_me_your_quan 4y ago
      e.g., the system deployed in Germany: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg&t=193s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg&t=193s
- Reubachi 4y ago
  C'mon guys. "Relatively trivial" is not the two words I would use to describe electrifying highway grids. And to convert road vehicles to conduct off that highway? The words I would use to describe/implement that is "Absolute Taxpayer Aversion". Billions and billions in R&D with no guarantee of adoption and likely greater operating costs for 10s of reasons.(Maintenance, contract costs, accidents, teething. Many counties, even liberal ones, in the US still have dirt roads. In western ireland it's about half the roads are dirt that I saw. If we can't figue out laying concrete at scale, how can we accomplish this "trivially"?

b112 4y ago

You have to go out of your way to get to the gas station, go up to the pump, pay for it, and then get back on your way. It always takes me 5-10 minutes to get gas. Wow. Gas stations are everywhere, conveniently located, and always on route to some place or another. The mental gymnastics employed, to try to make this seem arduous, does not make for a compelling argument.

zirgs 4y ago
Many rural areas have no gas stations nearby, but they do have electricity. So it's now actually more practical to have an EV in those places.
- yurishimo 4y ago
  Only if you don't need to travel further than your available range in a single day. While gas stations might be less common, there are still way more of them than high powered electric chargers. Having an electric vehicle is not useful if the only "fast" charging available to you as a consumer is a 240v hookup at your home (and you need to drive long distances regularly).
  - oluwie 4y ago
    USPS trucks that deliver mail aren't driving more than 100 miles (rarely) a day. I'm pretty sure these trucks can be on a 2-3 day recharge cycle and still have plenty of juice left even if they don't hit those recharge cycles.
smileysteve 4y ago
Conveniently, gas stations also have small commercial electric, and in some localities are partnering with utilities to provide high speed charging. (solves the street parking and no high amp service issues) Gas stations also have large flat roofs that some are putting solar panels on top of.
- starkd 4y ago

dsfyu404ed 4y ago

>You have to go out of your way to get to the gas station, go up to the pump, pay for it, and then get back on your way. It always takes me 5-10 minutes to get gas. Almost everybody consuming a "your local post office" volume of fuel has a tank and pump to dispense with on site. That said, consumer shipping has enough regularity that it lends itself well to electrification and electrifying any given class of vehicle in that industry should pencil out a little sooner than the equivalent vehicle in general.

tootie 4y ago

I know it's been talked about a lot and never really implemented, but if you've got a fleet of identical vehicles, then doing battery swaps should be possible and practical.