Australia Post trialing electric delivery vehicle
Australia Post plans to trial a new electric-powered parcel and letter delivery vehicle. Assuming the trial goes well, Australia Post intends to introduce the e-vehicle “across major cities from early next year”.
According to Australia Post, the new vehicle has “three times the parcel carrying capacity of the current postie motorbike and can hold up to 100 small parcels and 1,200 letters at a time”.
The move is part of Australia Post’s strategy to focus more on parcel delivery and e-commerce, to compensate for the decline in the traditional mail business.
In a statement issued on Friday (8 October), Australia Post’s Managing Director & Group CEO Ahmed Fahour explained: “Last year, parcels generated over half of our total revenue. Ten years ago parcels contributed less than 25%.
“As our business transforms so too are the jobs that our workforce are doing. A few years ago we equipped our posties so they can deliver small parcels and this latest initiative will allow them to deliver even more – helping to ensure their roles remain meaningful well into the future.”
Fahour continued: “While letter volumes have nearly halved, Australia Post is looking at ways to keep our posties delivering for Australians. We’re also trialling other jobs our posties might be able to do on their daily rounds – including welfare checks and meter reading – as a way to keep the much-loved postie around for years to come.”
Australia Post plans to trial the new e-vehicle in capital cities next year, beginning in select locations, with a decision on a broader roll-out expected by mid-late 2017 (pending approval from the Road Transport Authority).
