Swiss Post will deploy eco-friendly electric vehicles in two pilot tests running in the cantonof Basel-City from November this year under the name “E-Mobility Basel”.
As part of the “eShare” project, which is the first of its kind in Switzerland, individuals canrent electric cars. The second project gives companies and administrations the opportunity to leaseelectric vehicles in a “Carefree package”. Swiss Post said it can further deepen its long lastingexperience in the use of environmentally friendly engines with this project.
Operated by the Swiss Post fleet management unit Mobility Solutions, E-Mobility Basel aims toshow how electric vehicles can benefit daily operations. With this and a similar project incooperation with the association ‘inergie’ in Ittigen, the postal operator offers Swiss citizensthe opportunity to use electric vehicles in a car-sharing scheme which is unique acrossSwitzerland.
After registering at the online platform, the persons interested receive their personal customercard and can use the electric vehicles round the clock. In the second pilot project, the projectpartners lease electric vehicles for companies and administrations paying a fixed monthly sum for a“Carefree package” which comprises all costs for commissioning and maintenance.
The projects will be evaluated in accompanying academic studies related to automotiveengineering, load infrastructure and usage behaviour. Swiss Post said the findings will help findout about the acceptance of the vehicles among the general public, required distances and thestability of the battery charge status, depending on driving behaviour and area.
Swiss Post launched its first electric vehicles in 2005. Electric scooters have been used todeliver mail for the last three years and the company now has the largest fleet of electricscooters Europe-wide with 1,000 e-scooters. By 2012, Swiss Post plans to have deployed over 3,000of these environmentally friendly vehicles for letter delivery, accounting for around half of allof its scooters.
