Unlike the original EIS, the SEIS did include at least one feasible alternative, but it still did not analyze an alternative including the maximum technically feasible ZEV deployment. The Postal Service noted in the SEIS that around 90 percent of all routes could be serviced by electric vehicles but did not analyze the costs and benefits of a 90 percent ZEV fleet. This major omission is disappointing as it potentially leaves additional fiscal and environmental benefits on the table, compared to their “preferred alternative” of a 62 percent ZEV fleet.
In the SEIS, the Postal Services suggests several reasons for not choosing a 100 percent electrification alternative that makes good sense, however, they do not make a reasonable case for not analyzing a 90 percent ZEV fleet and should include such an analysis in their final SEIS. While I do think it’s technically reasonable that, in the near term, some gasoline delivery vehicles may be needed for niche routes and situations, the Postal Service should be diligently pursuing electrification wherever feasible.