Binghamton Residents Now Seeing Duck-Like Mail Trucks

A few letter carriers in the Binghamton area now are delivering mail using the region's first new-style trucks.

About 50 of the "Next Generation Delivery Vehicles" are now part of the United States Postal Service fleet in Broome County.

Roger Martinkovic, president of Branch 333 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said about eight Binghamton-based workers have been trained on the new trucks.

The vehicles look dramatically different from the trucks and vans that have been used by the postal service in recent decades. They've been described as "duck-billed" vehicles with large windshields and low hoods that make it easy for drivers to see the road.

Martinkovic said the letter carriers who've had an opportunity to use the new trucks seem to like them. But there have been some early reliability issues in Binghamton.

Martinkovic said one new vehicle had to be towed shortly after the start of a route when it overheated. The letter carrier finished the route using an old truck and was assigned another new vehicle the following day - but that also broke down.

Letter carriers driving the new trucks are enjoying a feature they haven't had before - air conditioning. Small fans are the only cooling equipment available in the old vehicles.

The new trucks have much more space than the older vehicles.

Only two local letter carriers a week can be trained on the new trucks, so the phase-in process will take some time.

All of the Binghamton-based Next Generation Delivery Vehicles are gasoline-fueled. Martinkovic said plans to use some electric-powered trucks in the local fleet have been scrapped.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.