Passionate about Paxster Posties

 There is a suspicion that the new Paxster Postie EVs will be replacing the regular Postie push bike service. Bicycles are perhaps the ultimate environmentally friendly delivery vehicle, so isn’t this a step backwards?

While I was at MOTAT during the 2016 International Drive Electric Week’s Auckland EV rally, I decided to find out the answer to this question. I spoke to Paul (pictured) who was there representing NZ Post, and he was more than happy to explain.

Contrary to this popularly held belief, I was reassured to discover the Paxster Posties are only replacing Internal Combustion Vehicles (ICV) that are already part of the NZ Post fleet. As NZ Post transitions from delivering mainly letters to high volumes of parcels, there is a real necessity for larger capacity vehicles. Each Paxster has the ability to hold up to 200kg (or 820 litres) in the rear  Postman Pat styled cargo box, plus 45kg of regular mail in the front.

A select few NZ Post depots will be removing their ICV’s entirely, opting for a combination of Paxsters and fully electric vans. They didn’t bring a NZ Post van to MOTAT, but these will be similar to the pictured Northpower van - another company very committed to EV’s.

With a top speed of 45km/h, the Paxster is able to travel on our roads, but unable to complete rural delivery routes using open-road speeds. So, for now, they will only be operating in urban areas. 

These four-wheeled scooters are also designed to travel on footpaths at up to  10km/h and  their adaptive suspension coupled with large wheels means they can mount curbs and tackle any obstacles that inevitably encroach on our streets.

There are three different configurations available, which have a range of either 50km, 65km or 75km approximately. This roughly equates to between 4 and 10 hours on the road; more than fit for purpose.

I’m looking forward to these distinctive EVs becoming an iconic part of everyday Kiwi living.

Ally McCormick
Volunteer
International Drive Electric Week