(PatriotWise.com) — The US Postal Service is to purchase almost 10,000 electric vehicles and is set to buy 66,000 more by 2028 at a cost of $9.6 billion. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said, “We are moving forward with our plans to simultaneously improve our service, reduce our cost, grow our revenue, and improve the working environment for our employees. Electrification of our vehicle fleet is now an important component of these initiatives.” The move comes as Vice President Kamala Harris said that the nation’s school buses are also to be replaced with electric vehicles at the cost of a further $5 billion.
In February, the White House issued a statement saying it intends to build a network of 500,000 electric charging stations across the country’s highways as part of its plan to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 50% by 2030. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest $7.5 billion in the manufacturing of battery components and $10 billion in “clean transportation.” Biden said he wants the future of the electric car industry to be American-made.
As of September 2022, there were more than 290 million cars in the United States. To reach the President’s goal, almost 150 million will be electricity-run by 2030. Sales however remain low and according to a YouGov poll, only around 20% of Americans would consider purchasing one. One of the major concerns is the time it takes to charge them, which in the context of postal or other essential services, is likely to be problematic. Some estimates say it could take up to 12 hours to replenish an electrical engine. It also remains unclear what will happen to the vehicle’s batteries at the end of their lives.
While several questions remain unanswered, it is highly possible that the costly transition to electric vehicles will mean slower travel and fewer cars on the road. The average price of an electric car in the United States is currently $66,000 and they are most likely to be owned by people earning more than $100,000 per year.
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