SINGAPORE – The postman will soon be bringing your mail on electric vehicles.

Singapore Post announced on Monday (Aug 16) that it will replace all of its lighter vehicles with electric ones by 2026. For a start, it has begun trials of two electric scooters and two vans.

The IONA RAP three-wheelers being trialled are being considered to replace the company’s 700 motorcycles and scooters that run on internal combustion engines.

The BYD T3 electric vans, if successful, are also expected to gradually phase out SingPost’s 140 petrol vans as their certificates of entitlement expire in the next five years. The aim is to reduce SingPost’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent by 2030.

The trial should end sometime in the next few months and could be further expanded if criteria like safety are met.

“As Singapore’s leading last-mile and postal service provider, our delivery vehicles traverse the length and breadth of the nation every day,” said Mr Vincent Phang, chief executive officer of SingPost Singapore and its postal services.

“There is a tremendous potential for us to do better for the planet.”

The two IONA RAP three-wheeler scooters are first being trialled on the Anson-Road-Shenton Way route and the Emerald Hill-Cairnhill route, and will appear in a distinctive green livery, SingPost said.

They have been found to emit roughly 75 per cent less greenhouse gases compared with their internal combustion engine counterparts. Each charge gives them a range of 120km, far in excess of the average of 15 to 20km that postmen travel each day.

Its 500-litre cargo space also compares favourably to the 462-litre cargo volume of SingPost’s current three-wheeler scooters and the 164 litres of its motorcycles.

The Land Transport Authority has approved it as a potential option, after making sure of factors such as stability and that the electric motor is adapted to the frequent starts and stops required in delivery work.

The BYD T3 elecric van will emit about 50 per cent less greeenhouse gases than petrol-fuelled vans and has a range of 300km on a full charge, with a maximum cargo volume of 3,800 litres.

SingPost said it is also in talks with various distributors to replace its heavy vehicle fleet with electric trucks, making it the first postal service in the Asia-Pacific region to commit to a 100 per cent electric delivery fleet.

Minister of State for Communications and Information and National Development Tan Kiat How said the trial is an example of SingPost’s commitment to meeting the evolving postal needs of people and businesses.

He said that with the shift towards e-commerce, there will be a surge in parcel volumes, adding: “This shows SingPost’s commitment to environmental sustainability.”

SingPost said it will continue to ensure drops in fuel consumption and emissions, through, for example, using innovative ways to optimise fleet routes and encouraging fuel-saving driving habits.

Other big local companies which have committed to fully electrifying their fleetinclude Wildlife Reserves Singapore. It is in the process of converting all its trams at the Singapore Zoo, River Safari, Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park to run on electricity by the end of this year.

Its entire internal fleet, consisting of vans, lorries, buggies and tow tractors, should turn electric by 2025.

Transport operator SMRT is set to change all its taxis to electric ones within five years.

Electric vehicles are seen as the future as they are more environmentally friendly, but experts have warned that focus should also be put on how the electricity used to charge the vehicles is produced.

For that, more sustainable energy sources like the greater harnessing of wind and solar energy might be needed.

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