(WHAS11) In this week’s Project Green, Brown is getting a little greener.
UPS is now using hybrid delivery trucks in their Louisville fleet and the greener brown trucks are making life a little easier.
Jeremy Rosenbalm, a UPS driver, said that life on the job is getting a little easier thanks to some new technology deployed here in Louisville.
“It has taken some getting used to, but I’m proud to drive it and proud to have a new office,” said Rosenbalm.
That office is actually a brand new hybrid electric delivery truck with some bells and whistles.
“I have a key fob that I hit on the way to the truck that gets the diesel and sequence to start, as well as another button I can push on the fob that opens the bulkhead door and also unlocks the rear door. This is the hybrid electric vehicle UPS has deployed across the country, we’re kind of lucky here in Louisville; we’re one of only eight cities in the nation experiencing this new technology.”
While Jeremy is enjoying the new electronic features, UPS managers are happy to be saving energy.
“We’re looking to save 176,000 gallons of fuel, not only from the increased performance, but also from the electric technology,” said Rosenbalm.
The hybrid electric delivery truck saves fuel and reduces emissions by a combination of clean diesel, electric power, and regenerative braking; when the truck is stopping, it’s powering the battery.
While the truck is saving energy, so is Jeremy. “With 100 to 200 stops for pickup and delivery, you know that’s 200 times a day I don’t have to turn the ignition, or put a key in the bulkhead door,” he said.
You may find one of the 20 hybrid UPS trucks in high-traffic areas around Louisville, where the electric motor will be used the most at speeds under 20 miles per hour.
The 20 trucks join roughly 20,000 low-emission and alternative fuel vehicles already in use by UPS around the country.
