The United States Postal Service finalizes plan to stick with gas-powered delivery trucks. USPS will buy nearly 150 thousand gas-powered mail delivery trucks, defying objections from the Biden administration and advocates. The new postal delivery fleet, which includes more vehicles than any other government agency and accounts for nearly one-third of all federally owned cars and trucks, will achieve only a 0.4-mpg fuel efficiency improvement over the current fleet.

Postmaster General DeJoy, a Trump appointee, estimated buying electric delivery trucks would cost $30,000 more per vehicle, but that number confused regulators and advocates who say the figure doesn’t match independent cost estimates. “Neither rain, nor sleet, nor financial good sense will stop the leaders of the U.S. Postal Service from trying to buy dirty, polluting delivery trucks,” Patricio Portillo, transportation analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told The Hill. “For the sake of clean air and cost savings, it’s time to return this plan to sender.” (CNBC, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $)