Royal Mail gets first electric fleet

Royal Mail has launched its first all-electric fleet at the Bristol Delivery Office. 

The Bristol East Central Delivery Office, located in the City’s Easton area, has had its 23 diesel vans replaced with fully electric equivalents.

Six electric charging posts have also been installed on the site with the electricity coming from 100% renewable sources.

Bristol was selected for this trial due to the city’s plans for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which will require certain vehicles to pay a daily charge to enter its centre.

Other Delivery Offices are also being considered for similar projects in the coming months, particularly those in places with existing or upcoming CAZs.

The electric vans have up to 60% more load space than the vehicles they have replaced, giving them the additional capacity to deal with growing parcel volumes.

The vans can also travel up to 125 miles in between charges, depending on weather and load size.

Simon Thompson, chief executive officer at Royal Mail said: ‘It’s clear to me that customers increasingly want less environmentally impacting deliveries.

‘And as a Company, we believe it’s the right thing to do. We are delighted to transform Bristol East Central into the very first Royal Mail ‘all-electric’ Delivery Office. This is a really positive step and will help us assess the impact of these changes on both our customers and our people when compared to conventional delivery offices.’

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees added: ‘It’s fantastic news that Royal Mail has chosen Bristol for its first-ever all-electric Delivery Office.

‘Their 23 electric vehicles will join Bristol’s 99 bio-gas buses already on our streets in reducing emissions and improving air quality. We want to support people and businesses in transitioning our fleet to cleaner and more efficient vehicles. The investment in these vehicles and their network supports the important work of distribution across Bristol, as well as contributing to our economy as we recover from the Covid pandemic.’

Photo Credit – Supplied