UPS Delivering Small Packages With Small Vehicles
by John Laumer, Philadelphia 
on 11.19.07
This prototype seems well suited for Petaluma California package deliveries; but, where rain and snow are common, it just wouldn't make it. The big win for Petaluma is with local air quality and fuel savings (Southern California has poor AQ in general, and higher than average fuel prices). In a crowded urban setting, everybody benefits from reduced conflicts over parking and lane blocking by the small, white versus the "big brown" delivery vans.
The UPS branch in Petaluma, California has leased an initial fleet of 42 ZAP Xebra® electric city cars and trucks for their small parcel deliveries. This is the first time that UPS has used electric city-speed vehicles for this purpose.Small parcel deliveries are becoming more challenging for the trademark big, brown UPS delivery vans, which is why UPS is using the electric city cars and trucks to handle small parcel deliveries. The ZAP vehicles lessen fuel consumption and reduce automotive emissions produced by current delivery vehicles. Drivers will be monitoring their electrical usage to carefully analyze cost-savings and emissions reductions.
Note:this writer has a very small amount of Zap stock, but nothing invested in UPS.
Via::ZapWorld Image credit::Flickr, Zap slide show
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Now how difficult was that?
This is a great direction for UPS to go. In states like California, parts of Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and elsewhere in the US, these small vehicles would be great year-round.
I suppose that I should also note that Petaluma is in Sonoma County...which is North of San Francisco...and thus would be in Northern California, not Southern California. Since Northern California doesn't have quite the air quality issues of LA, I think these would be even more helpful in smaller LA communities like Santa Monica, Venice, Hermosa Beach, etc.
Just one small correction. Petaluma is in Northern California (in Marin County north of San Francisco), not southern california.
If they'd hook some EVs up with some PV solar pavilions they could rotate vehicles and save million$. Not to mention the PR and competitive benefits.
=== authors response follows ===
Thanks for that. You definitely get "comment of the day" award for the insight/.
Today, my wife, kids and I saw 2 of the little Xebra Pickups & 2 Xebra SD Sedans on a flat bed in Ogden, Utah which rather surprised me.
I'd bet that they are from the Oregon Zap dealer as the truck and trailer had Oregon license plates.
It excited me to see them as they are the precursors to some excellent automotive options to lessen the pollution that we have just about everywhere, anymore.
I still prefer FedEx though.
Isn't FedEx pretty green enough?
If they add a topper to protect the cargo area (which I assume they will do at the same time it gets the UPS paint-job), I don't see how rain or even snowplowed roads would be a problem for this vehicle.
I was wondering why doesnt the Postal Service do something like this?
On the latest episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet(the greatest show lately, on the Sundance channel) they focused on the Postal Service and how they are becoming Cradle to Cradle certified. If they added these to their fleet it would be ultimate treehugger status!
A friend who does a lot of alternative vehicle construction says the "tadpole" layout handles a lot better, with two wheels up front. Check out his human powered design:
http://microship.com/bobstuart/carcycle.html