Australia Post trialling e-trikes

Australia Post will be running a pilot scheme this month using three-wheel electric vehicles to deliver parcels. From 20 March,  five of the new e-trikes will be operating in Hobart, serving the areas of Bellerive, Howrah, Montagu Bay, Mornington, Rosny Park, Tranmere and Warrane.

The new e-vehicles have three times the parcel carrying capacity of the current postal delivery motorbike and can hold up to 100 small parcels and 1,200 letters at a time.

The e-vehicle is designed by the Swiss company, Kyburz, and is developed and manufactured in Switzerland. It has a battery range of up to nine hours and can reach speeds of up to 45 km/h.

Australia Post’s Head of Network Optimisation Mitch Buxton said Hobart was a “perfect starting point” to get the pilot underway with locals increasingly embracing online shopping.

“We know that residents in Hobart love online shopping. In fact the yearly growth rate in this area is above the national average, sitting at 13.8% growth compared to 11.5%,” said Buxton.

“Health and beauty products, fashion and recreational goods are the most popular purchases among local Hobart residents.

Buxton also pointed out how e-commerce fulfilment and parcel delivery is now at the heart of Australia Post’s business.

“Our parcels business generates over 70% of our total revenue. Ten years ago parcels contributed less than 25% of our revenue,” said Buxton.

“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.

“While letter volumes have nearly halved, this is another example of how Australia Post is looking at ways to keep our posties delivering for Australians.”