By: npr
May 21,2019
The U.S. Postal Service is experimenting with self-driving trucks to move mail across state lines.
The USPS has partnered with San Diego-based TuSimple on a two-week pilot program focusing solely on a 1,000-mile route between Dallas and Phoenix.
TuSimple’s chief product officer Chuck Price told NPR the test runs, which began on Tuesday, will help the Postal Service “become future-ready.” The aim of the program, according to the Postal Service, is “to accommodate a diverse mail mix, enhance safety, improve service, reduce emissions, and produce operational savings.”
It will involve five round trips, traveling major interstates that cross Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Each truck will have a “safety engineer” and driver on board for the duration of the pilot to monitor vehicle performance and to ensure public safety.
The Postal Service usually contracts out such long-haul trips, which involve large freight trailers carrying thousands of pieces of mail, as opposed to the small trucks making door-to-door deliveries.