Delivery boom leads to new postal vehicles
Staff writer
New vehicles at Marion and Hillsboro post offices are not meant to stay for long.
“We’re just supplementing to make sure people have adequate vehicles to get through the rest of the year,” field contact Mark Inglett said.
USPS is designing new mail carrier vehicles to be put into use by Jan. 1. They will be capable of carrying more packages and have a wider windshield among other things.
Inglett, who has been in postal service for 36 years starting as a mail carrier, said the new vehicles would be better for handling the growing package deliveries post-pandemic.
“As unique as they’re going to be look, I think they’re going to be really beneficial,” Inglett said. “We are super excited about it.”
Hillsboro postmaster Rebecca Larsen said the number of packages definitely had increased over the pandemic, and she doesn’t know whether the volume would be leveling out soon.
Different vehicles will be designed for rural and city deliveries.
“There are lots of different kinds,” Larsen said. “Some are right-hand drive, some are left-hand drive, some are for the country, some are for the city. There’s anything from a half-ton car to the big trucks.”
In the meantime, local post offices are working with cars including modified Mercedes vehicles.