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US cities pay too much for buses

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355 points pavel_lishin | 3 comments | 26 Sep 25 13:57 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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logifail ◴[26 Sep 25 18:21 UTC] No.45389479[source]▶
Ever since I first looked at the Oshkosh NGDV for the USPS I couldn't help but wonder WHY there was a need for a custom vehicle?*

European parcel delivery firms and postal systems (Deutsche Post DHL, La Poste, Royal Mail, PostNL and all the non-legacy competitors) generally do not commission purpose-built vehicles, they buy off the shelf small vans and light commercial vehicles.

* of course I do know why, "because jobs and politics"...

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pkaye ◴[26 Sep 25 19:09 UTC] No.45389937[source]▶
The USPS is an US federal agency. At one time it even had a cabinet level position though not so any more. Its not private like in most countries. At the scale they buy these vehicles, it probably makes sense to get a custom one. Even Amazon has custom EVs built for them.
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1. wolrah ◴[26 Sep 25 19:22 UTC] No.45390067[source]▶
> Even Amazon has custom EVs built for them.

Eh, sort of. Amazon partnered with Rivian to help design the EDV and had an initial exclusivity agreement as long as they ordered a certain number of them, but this agreement has since been terminated so anyone can buy them now. The USPS actually tested one in early 2024.

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2. pkaye ◴[26 Sep 25 19:49 UTC] No.45390344[source]▶
Its not clear what your point is? Both USPS and Amazon got heavily customized vehicles made for them. In the US the USPS is a government agency so any kind of government contracts get heavily securitized by the public but nobody cares what trucks Fedex and Amazon buy just like in countries where the mail service is privatized.
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3. wolrah ◴[28 Sep 25 23:25 UTC] No.45408958[source]▶
IMO a LLV or NGDV is a custom-designed vehicle for USPS, the EDV is a delivery-optimized electric step van that happens to have been designed with the input of one specific delivery vendor.