UPS Brown Goes Green with ZAP Trucks
UPS has leased a fleet of 42 electric ZAP trucks to deliver small packages in Northern California. Instead of loading up their huge brown delivery trucks, and running them up and down every street in Petaluma, they are separating the smaller packages and using electric cars to do a lot of the zipping around town.
This appears to be a test program because the drivers are keeping close track of their electrical usage so that UPS can analyze the cost-savings and emissions reductions.
“This is the missing link for small package deliveries in congested areas,” said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. “Packages go from the airplanes, to the tractor trailers, to the delivery vans, then to the drop-off nodes. From there the ZAP trucks make the final delivery to the consumer in a zero-emission vehicle that costs less to operate. It’s a perfect example of how green technology can help corporate America’s bottom line.”
I’m interested to see how it works out. Companies are quick to put out press releases saying that they are “Going Green,” but if the experiment doesn’t cut costs or reduce emissions, they aren’t so eager to announce when they “Go Back To Brown.”
You can see the entire Flickr set here:
My biggest concern is boxes disappearing off the back of the truck. Since the back of the truck isn’t enclosed, they can’t lock them. How is the driver supposed to deliver a package and watch the rest of them at the same time? I’m sure they’ll work out the bugs, but I’m really eager to see a follow-up and I doubt UPS or ZAP will give me one unless it’s a raging success. Let’s all hope for a raging success, shall we?