Driverless vehicles bring mail to Arizona
Pilot program operates between Phoenix, Dallas
The U.S. Postal Service is carrying mail between Phoenix and Dallas in driverless trucks for a pilot program starting this week, as the agency aims to make mail shipments more efficient and safer on long-haul routes.
TuSimple, a self-driving truck company headquartered in San Diego with an office in Tucson, said it received a contract to complete five round trips driven by two trucks during the two-week pilot program starting May 21.
Technology developed by the company will help the Postal Service transport mail between distribution centers in Phoenix and Dallas, with the aim of reducing fuel costs, enhancing safety and more.
The trucks will have a safety engineer and driver on board to monitor vehicle performance during the test runs.
‘Like the old Pony Express’
TuSimple will run the self-driving trucks for around 22 hours at a time, including overnight, along Interstate 10 and then I-20 in west Texas and I-30 in the Dallas area.
The trucks will stop briefly en route to switch teams of drivers and safety engineers, said Robert Brown, a TuSimple spokesman. “It will be like the old Pony Express,” he said.
The company, which employs about 100 engineers and other staff at a testing center in Tucson, views the I-10 corridor as having high appeal for autonomous trucks. The highway is a major artery for goods being shipped to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
During the postal test, two trucks carrying mail and parcels together will complete five round trips, totaling about 10,000 miles. Another truck will be ready as a backup.
TuSimple also has been conducting autonomous-driving tests for about 15 trucking and commercial shipping companies but hasn’t identified the other participants.
Long-haul focus
Long-haul routes with short turnaround times, such as the 22-hour journey between Phoenix and Dallas, are well suited for self-driving vehicles.
Trucking companies have a difficult time recruiting drivers on such routes, which require overnight hauls and two drivers who must share close quarters, according to TuSimple.
The nation is facing a significant shortage of drivers anyway, according to estimates by the American Trucking Association.
Driverless operations can allow human drivers to focus on shorter, more interesting routes closer to their homes, the company added.
The Postal Service, which operates a fleet of 232,000 vehicles, has looked at new ways to conduct trucking operations. Nearly 8,000 of those vehicles are tractors, trailers and other trucks larger than delivery vehicles, which number around 208,000.
The agency employs about 8,400 drivers and other vehicle employees in addition to mail carriers and other staff.
“This pilot is just one of many ways the Postal Service is innovating and investing in its future,” the agency said in a prepared statement.
“We are conducting research and testing as part of our efforts to operate a future class of vehicles which will incorporate new technology to accommodate a diverse mail mix, enhance safety, improve service, reduce emissions and produce operational savings.”
Arizona has emerged as an important testing site for autonomous commercial trucks and cars. Waymo, Uber, General Motors, Ford, Kroger and Ryder are among the other companies that have been testing self-driving vehicles here.