New Postal Service Delivery Vans Begin Rolling Out Across Pittsburgh Region

Residents in the Pittsburgh area may be noticing a change in the mail trucks on their streets. The newer vehicles are short, sit low to the ground and have unusually large windshields.

They are among the first of more than 100,000 vehicles the U.S. Postal Service plans to introduce across the country, according to agency spokesman Xavier Hernandez. The group combines commercial off-the-shelf models with custom-built "next generation" delivery vehicles, and some run on gasoline while others are electric.

Ted Lee, president of Pittsburgh Postal Union Branch 84, said the Postal Service began using new electric delivery vehicles this week at post offices across the North Side, including the one at 900 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Hernandez said the new vehicles will "replace and expand" a current fleet of 230,000, many of which have been on the road for more than three decades.

The next-generation trucks were designed for the Postal Service by Oshkosh Defense, a Wisconsin-based company, with comfort and safety in mind, Hernandez said. They include features older trucks lack, such as automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warnings, 360-degree cameras and larger windshields that improve visibility.

Mail carriers asked for certain upgrades themselves, including air conditioning and cup holders, Hernandez said. He added that the vehicles' distinctive shape provides more than twice the cargo space of their predecessors, along with "ample headroom and accessibility," while keeping sightlines clear for both the tallest and shortest carriers.

The agency started deploying the vehicles in Georgia in 2024. So far 44,000 are in service, and a further 62,000 are planned through 2028, Hernandez said.

In Pennsylvania, 500 next-generation vehicles are now operating, out of 1,900 new vehicles in total. The wider group includes the Ford E-Transit, the Ram ProMaster and the Mercedes Metris, Hernandez said.

Beyond Pittsburgh, Lee said the vehicles are also running in Erie and Harrisburg. He said he plans to collect feedback on the new trucks from union members over the next several weeks.