Wednesday, June 23, 2010

U.S. Postal Service looking for automobile replacement

Most vehicles within the US Postal Service really need this. The automobiles were intended with a 24-year life cycle, and are simply getting old. $ 4.2 billion is what would be required to replace all of the vehicles. Is the replacement going to be the only option?

Article Resource: U.S. Postal Service looking for car replacement By Car Deal Expert

Postal Service and LLVs

LLV stands for Long Life Vehicles and is the kind of truck the Postal Service uses. With daily driving, the trucks had a 24 year life cycle. The 24 year cycle is about to end. The Postal Service Inspector General has said that, over the span of the next eight years, the Postal Service would spend more repairing the automobiles than replacing them.

Repairing USPS automobiles price

In fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Postal Service spent $ 524 million on LLV repair. Generally, repairing the automobiles rather than replacing them has been a good financial decision. The average repair bill for each LLV is about $ 5,600, with some repair bills going as high as $ 40,000. The vehicles don’t usually require any kind of specialized maintenance, though the right-handed driving setup can cause a lot more expensive maintenance at times.

Replacing the LLV fleet

The cost to benefit comparison of continuing to repair the LLV fleet is quickly turning upside down. In the next eight years, the postal service will really lose money if it repairs rather than replaces any cars that have a repair bill of a lot more than $ 3,500. Straight-across replacement of the full LLV fleet would cost $ 30,000 per truck.

Trying to test alternatives for Postal Service vehicles

There is a lot of research going into US Postal Service delivery autos. The USPS has offered a $ 50,000 reward to firms for providing a working prototype of a USPS automobile by August. Letter carriers in many other areas are testing three-wheeled electric vehicles, bicycles, and also some more traditional minivan-style vehicles for delivering the mail, rain or shine.



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