USPS Looking To Test Self-Driving Mail Trucks

The delivery of our mail and packages have come a long way from back in the day, and while the logistics used by delivery companies has improved leaps and bounds, they are still mostly reliant on humans to do the driving and the delivery. However, USPS is hoping to improve on their efficiency and have announced plans to test self-driving mail trucks.

This will be done in partnership with a company called TuSimple that specializes in self-driving trucks. According to the announcement, the test will involve a series of self-driving trucks that will be driving for 22 hours each, which includes overnight driving. The routes covered are the I-10, I-20 and I-30 corridors and will make their way through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

TuSimple’s founder and president, Dr. Xiaodi Hou, said, “It is exciting to think that before many people will ride in a robo-taxi, their mail and packages may be carried in a self-driving truck. Performing for the USPS on this pilot in this particular commercial corridor gives us specific use cases to help us validate our system, and expedite the technological development and commercialization progress.”

USPS isn’t alone in exploring new ways of delivery. Previously, we had heard how UPS was exploring the use of electric trucks and also the use of drones. Whether or not the use of self-driving trucks will help improve the overall efficiency of USPS remains to be seen.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Transportation
Tags: Self-Driving Cars