Car and Carrier

ostal vehicles are part of daily life for an vehicles take on new meaning for the young and active letter carrier. A truck is just another the old, alike. tool, like a satchel or case, for doing our With the Postal Service looking to replace its ag- Pjobs. But postal vehicles are a familiar sym- ing fleet of vehicles, The Postal Record takes a look bol of the trust and reliability of the Postal Ser- forward at the design process for the postal vehicle vice—almost as recognizable as letter carriers. For of the future and a look back at postal vehicles that many, older postal vehicles are nostalgic remind- letter carriers used in the past, including some that ers of the old days. And as they evolve, postal have found new lives. Back in time with previous generations’ postal vehicles etter carriers have always enlisted some of the vehicles that city carriers wagons, which were used to transport the help of wheeled vehicles to bear have used throughout the history of mail between post offices and train Lthe load of mail and packages. The the U.S. Postal Service. stations in large cities from the 1870s vehicles they have used have changed When door-to-door mail delivery to the first decade of the 20th century. dramatically with carriers’ needs and became a popular service in the United The wagons were usually painted red, the technology available. From the States during the Civil War, postal white and blue with gold lettering. simple horse-drawn wagon of yester- employees used horse-drawn carts to By the late 1890s, regulation wagons year to today’s Long Life Vehicle (LLV) extend their range beyond the mail they began to be phased out in favor of to tomorrow’s Next Generation Postal could carry in a satchel or atop a horse. lighter and less-expensive screen Vehicle, the postal vehicle continues to One of the first photos of postal wagons. Named for the built-in screen change with the times. Here’s a look at horse-drawn wagons shows regulation cages that protected the mail, screen USPS looks for the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle he Long Life Vehicle could finally be approaching the end of its life. T The Grumman LLV has been around for 30 years, longer than the original design’s intended lifespan of 24 years. In addition to the LLV, the U.S. Postal Service currently operates a fleet that includes left-hand drive, multiple-sized and alternative fuel vehicles, along with commercially available vehicles such as cargo vans and mixed-delivery vehicles. With the LLV at or beyond the end of its lifespan, USPS is continuing a years- long process of developing the next generation of delivery vehicles. “Our goal is to obtain vehicles that will help us provide reliable and effi- cient delivery service for customers and honor our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our fleet, while Specifications released by the Postal Service meeting the needs of our employees 12 The Postal Record August 2017 Postal vehicle timeline Regulation wagon, circa 1895 Electric automobile, 1901 Columbia automobile, 1906 wagons were used from the late 1880s their drivers, with letter carriers riding pany—thanks to the popularity of its until they were gradually replaced by along and collecting mail from the mail-order catalogue—handled five motor vehicles. boxes. The Post Office Dept. concluded times as many orders as it had the year In 1900, the production of auto- that one automobile could do twice the before. Although trucks were used to mobiles in the United States was work of a horse-drawn cart, paving the haul Parcel Post packages as early as about equally divided among models way for further use of automobiles. 1913, old-fashioned horse power held powered by electric power, steam and Some letter carriers began using on until the 1920s. gasoline. What was then known as the motorcycles on their routes in the The speed of the new powered Post Office Department (POD) joined 1910s and 1920s—models such as “The vehicles, and the productivity im- the automobile craze by employing all Flying Merkel,” a belt-driven, two- provements they brought, soon ran three kinds to move mail. Only later cylinder V-twin motorcycle. But four- up against speed limits. In fact, in did gasoline engines come to dominate wheeled automobiles and trucks soon October 1913, about 100 drivers for the market, in part because of Henry became the vehicles of choice due to the Postal Transfer Service Company, Ford’s successful mass production of their larger capacities. a mail contractor in New York City, the Model T. With the larger, faster vehicles in went on strike. Chief among the driv- On Oct. 1, 1906, the POD began using service, the POD initiated Parcel Post ers’ complaints was that the police its first gasoline-powered automobiles service on Jan. 1, 1913. It was an instant had recently decided to enforce the to collect mail from boxes in Balti- success, with 300 million parcels city’s 20 mph speed limit, which was more through a contractor. The mail mailed in the first six months alone. making it difficult for them to meet the contractor supplied both the cars and That year, Sears, Roebuck and Com- company’s schedules. (The strike was t to best do their jobs safely,” the Postal Letter carrier input was included in “To this end, the Postal Service has Service said in a press release. the specifications for what the suppli- asked automakers to consider a ‘fully On Jan. 20, 2015, USPS began the ac- ers must include in their designs. “We enclosed van style body’ that would quisition process with a formal request have spent a considerable amount of have internal cargo capacity and even for information and a kickoff meeting time talking to letter carriers in different sliding side doors,” The New York Times for technology and automotive suppli- parts of the country about what they reported in March 2015. ers. “The robust and open process was would like to see in a new vehicle,” Additionally, USPS wants backup designed to attract the most innovative Renfroe, now NALC’s executive vice cameras and warning systems, ergo- and cutting-edge technological solu- president, continued. “While some of nomic seats and doors, airbags and tions,” the Postal Service said. the input is specific to certain climates antiskid surfaces, the newspaper NALC has been involved in the pro- or geographic areas, there are quite a reported. Fuel efficiency is expected to cess, advising the Postal Service on the few common suggestions. The Postal be a major focus as well. point of view of letter carriers. As then- Service has incorporated our sugges- USPS then reviewed the responses Director of City Delivery Brian Renfroe tions into a lengthy document that and whittled the list down to 15 suppli- said in the April 2015 Postal Record, includes specifications for the next- ers, determined to be prequalified, to “We have had weekly meetings with the generation delivery vehicle.” submit proposals to develop prototype Postal Service to discuss various city Details of what is expected in the vehicles. In October 2015, USPS gave delivery issues, such as what should be vehicles have emerged, based on the those 15 suppliers access to the pro- included in a new vehicle. Our main ob- requirements USPS has put forward. cessing and delivery environment and jective is to ensure that any new vehicle One requirement: Letter carriers must employees, and asked them to submit is safe, ergonomic and as convenient as be able to stand up in the vehicle proposals for vehicles designed for possible for letter carriers, and accom- and walk to the rear of the vehicle, USPS’ delivery needs. modates the work we do now and will do where more room for packages is As part of that process, NALC selected in the future.” expected. three letter carriers to provide detailed, t August 2017 The Postal Record 13 Motorcycle, circa 1911 Parcel Post truck, 1913 Automobile, circa 1914 Automobile, 1930 unsuccessful—the company, which Jeeps were used for mail delivery by ally rendered hand-sorting of mail by had a history of vigorous anti-union rural carriers in the 1940s. In the 1950s, traveling clerks obsolete. The last HPO activities, fired all the striking drivers.) right-hand drive Jeep models were in- rolled between Cincinnati and Cleve- Within a few years, the Post Office troduced for city carriers on suburban land on June 30, 1974. Dept. began buying its own trucks routes. Jeeps remained in general use In the 1950s, the Post Office Dept. instead of relying on contract trucks through the late 1980s. began fully motorizing city delivery and drivers. One of the advantages of In 1941, Highway Post Offices routes. Using motor vehicles, letter postal-owned trucks was their versa- (HPOs)—essentially buses outfitted as carriers could deliver more mail, more tility. Whereas the use of contracted portable post offices—made their first quickly. vehicles was restricted to precise appearance when a route was estab- The right-hand drive Zip Van, one of contract terms, postal-owned trucks lished between Washington, DC, and the first large vehicles designed specifi- could fill needs as they arose. Thus, Harrisonburg, VA, serving more than cally for city carriers, allowed a carrier the same vehicle could be used to col- 20 intermediate post offices. HPOs to drive while standing up and easily lect and dispatch mail, transport mail were similar in function to railway post deliver mail and packages. between facilities, deliver Parcel Post, offices. Like railway mail clerks aboard The Westcoaster mailster was intro- and even transport letter carriers to trains, clerks on board HPOs sorted duced in the early 1950s.

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