Skip to main content

USPS taps self-driving big rigs to move mail between cities

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is exploring the idea of transporting mail across the country using self-driving trucks.

The USPS has partnered with autonomous-truck company TuSimple for trial deliveries between its distribution centers in Phoenix, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas — a distance of around 1,000 miles.

Five round trips will take place across a period of two weeks, each one covering a distance of around 1,800 miles. And don’t be concerned if you find yourself tootling along the I-10, I-20, or I-30 during the trial and notice one of TuSimple’s autonomous trucks bearing down on you — the company is sending them out with both a safety engineer and a back-up driver to monitor performance and generally keep an eye on everything.

The USPS and TuSimple will operate the self-driving trucks for 22 hours at a time, which means overnight drives will also form part of the testing as they rumble along roads in three states.

“It is exciting to think that before many people will ride in a robo-taxi, their mail and packages may be carried in a self-driving truck,” TuSimple founder and president Dr. Xiaodi Hou said in a release. “Performing for the USPS on this pilot in this particular commercial corridor gives us specific use cases to help us validate our system, and expedite the technological development and commercialization progress.”

With the American Trucking Association citing a possible driver shortage of 175,000 by 2024, it’s easy to see why an increasing number of companies are exploring autonomous technology as a possible solution for moving freight across the country. The USPS said that such a system could also help it to reduce fuel costs, improve truck safety on the road, and boost its fleet utilization rate through longer hours of operation.

TuSimple was founded in 2015 and has bases in San Diego and Beijing. The company is working on the development of a Level 4 autonomous truck for commercial use. At the start of this year, it had 11 autonomous trucks performing test drives on Arizona roads, with a number of companies paying it to move their cargo during those trips.

For more information on TuSimple’s technology and how it’s putting it to work, check out Digital Trends’ interview with Chuck Price, the company’s chief product officer.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Scout Motors Electric SUV: rumored price, release date, design, and more
Scout SUV Teaser

There's another electric SUV on the way, and this one comes with a familiar name. Volkswagen is reviving the classic Scout name for a new electric SUV that's billed as being an "RUV," or a rugged utility vehicle. And, it could well prove itself as the best electric SUV in its price range, when it does finally come out.

The new EV isn't due out for quite some time, but there's already a fair bit that we know about it. Curious to learn more? Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming Scout SUV.
Design
There's very little we actually know about the Scout SUV so far, but we do know a little about the eventual design. A few teasers for the upcoming vehicle have been released, showing sketches of both the SUV and the accompanying pickup truck, along with what's presumably the front of the SUV -- though in a dark environment, with little detail.

Read more
Volkswagen ID.GTI concept is another icon reimagined as an EV
Front three quarter view of the Volkswagen ID.GTI concept.

Volkswagen reinvented one of its most iconic models with the ID.Buzz, a modern, all-electric homage to the classic Microbus. But that's not the only fan favorite vehicle currently in the automaker's catalog.

Debuting at the 2023 Munich Auto Show, the Volkswagen ID.GTI concept aims to do for the Golf GTI hot hatchback — VW's signature performance car — what the ID.Buzz did for the Microbus. VW claims a production version has already been given the green light, although it won't say when it will appear.

Read more
Some Tesla fires were reportedly caused by Idalia floods
A Tesla Model Y is seen driving to the left.

As Florida embarks on the difficult work of cleaning up the damage caused by last week’s powerful Hurricane Idalia, local fire crews warned owners of electric cars caught up in floods to immediately move their vehicles away from buildings as a safety measure.

The alert was issued via the Facebook account of firefighters in Palm Harbor, Florida, after reports emerged of electric batteries in two Tesla cars suddenly combusting after exposure to saltwater, CBS News reported, adding that one of the Tesla cars went up in flames as it was being towed by fire crews.

Read more