Answer Man: Updated US Postal Service vehicles coming to Western NC?

Johnny Casey, Asheville Citizen Times
Updated ·3 min read
The Mars Hill post office is located at 65 S. Main St. in downtown Mars Hill.
The Mars Hill post office is located at 65 S. Main St. in downtown Mars Hill.

MARS HILL - This installment of Answer Man looks into whether the Asheville metropolitan area, including Madison County, will be seeing updated U.S. Postal Service vehicles at local post offices. Got a question for Asheville Answer Man or Answer Woman? Email Executive Editor Karen Chávez at KChavez@citizentimes.com and your question could appear in an upcoming column.

Question: Were you ever able to find out the answer on when Asheville and environs will see the new USPS delivery vans that are supposedly replacing the very old and unreliable USPS postal jeeps that they have used for over 45 years now? I have heard these vehicles didn't even have air condition in them for their drivers. Very uncomfortable in the summer.

Answer: As the Madison County communities reporter, this question hits home to me, as in December and January I covered a story in which Everett Almound Johnston Jr., of Marshall, was killed after a U.S. postal service contractor ran him over at the Mars Hill post office Dec. 27.

Following Johnston's death, Mars Hill Town Manager Nathan Bennett and Mars Hill Police Chief Chad Wilson called for changes at the post office, and said they hoped the incident would spark discussion at the federal level about the location, general layout and building/parking lot infrastructure at the Mars Hill post office.

Philip Bogenberger works in corporate communications with the U.S. Postal Service.

"Safety is a top priority for the Postal Service, and we are saddened there was an accident involving a contractor’s vehicle and a customer," Bogenberger said in an emailed statement to The News-Record & Sentinel.

"Our thoughts are with the customer’s loved ones."

A U.S. Postal Service van gears up for another delivery at the Mars Hill post office.
A U.S. Postal Service van gears up for another delivery at the Mars Hill post office.

The News-Record & Sentinel spoke with Wilson by phone Feb. 27.

According to Wilson, the vehicle that ran over Johnston was a U.S. Postal Service-owned truck that did not have a reverse backup beeper.

As for new postal vehicles, the U.S. Postal Service said it plans on procuring a total of 21,000 electric vehicles — including 9,250 from Ford — depending on market availability and operational feasibility, by 2028.

On Jan. 22, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its first set of electric vehicle charging stations in Atlanta, according to a release from the service, in which it said there will be charging stations installed at approximately 400 new sorting and delivery centers throughout the year.

The Postal Service said it has opened 29 new sorting and delivery centers, and the 400 sorting and delivery centers are planned throughout its 10-year Delivering for America plan.

"These centers — which provide faster and more reliable mail and package delivery over a greater geographic area — will serve as the local hubs to deploy EVs along local carrier routes," the Postal Service said in the release.

"Electrification and modernization of the Postal Service's delivery fleet is part of the organization's $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve the USPS processing, transportation and delivery networks."

A man died after being run over by a carrier attempting to back up to the back parking lot area at the Mars Hill post office, located at 65 S. Main St.
A man died after being run over by a carrier attempting to back up to the back parking lot area at the Mars Hill post office, located at 65 S. Main St.

More: Officials want post office changes Mars Hill officials call for change after man dies after being backed into by mail carrier

More: Remembering Everett Johnston Everett Johnston, killed at Mars Hill PO, remembered as a man of letters, loving husband

So, will Western North Carolina be getting a charging station or updated vehicles at its post offices?

According to Bogenberger, it's too early to tell.

"At this time, there is no public information available which other states will be receiving EVs," Bogenberger said.

Cathy Little is the postmaster at the Mars Hill post office.

Little said she has served as postmaster at the Mars Hill location for roughly 18 months. According to Little, throughout that time, she has requested updated vehicles, as the Mars Hill post office currently has only one delivery van.

But she hasn't heard confirmation either way.

"It's not that I haven't heard anything, it's just that nobody else around here knows when any more are going to get allocated," Little said. "They tell me they don't know when they're coming or where they're going."

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for more than three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer Man: Updated US Postal Service vehicles coming to Western NC?