With the recent addition of 45 hybrid-electric trucks to their delivery fleet, FedEx Express is driving green in the Bronx.
On Monday, August 18, the transportation company dedicated the vessels to its Bronx station in the Harlem River Yards, 670 E. 132nd St.
“The expansion of our hybrid fleet is the latest in our nearly decade-long journey with Environmental Defense Fund to create a new, affordable and cleaner standard of delivery truck,” FedEx’s director of environmental affairs and sustainability Mitch Jackson explained.
The ‘clean’ delivery trucks were added to the 14 already operating from to Bronx, equating to a 52% hybrid unit at the station overall.
“Operating hybrids from this station since it opened and now adding a greater number of them to the fleet will make a positive difference,” Joe Gomez, a Bronx native and FedEx senior manager of the Harlem Yards Station, said.
He further noted that FedEx continues to contribute to various Bronx community programs and initiatives, particularly public schools and local parks, in their efforts to provide service to both youth and the environment.
“We want to be a good neighbor and actively involved in the communities where we provide services,” Gomez explained.
And with New York as the official home to the greatest number of FedEx hybrid trucks in the world, the company’s keeping its word.
According to FedEx, the hybrid trucks improve fuel economy 42%, reduce greenhouse gas emissions approximately 30% and cut particulate pollution by 96%.
“I am very pleased to welcome the FedEx hybrid fleet to the Bronx,” Congressman Jose E. Serrano stated. “I have long said that the goals of improving the economy and improving the environment don’t have to work in opposition of each other.”
He explained that the conversion of diesel delivery trucks to hybrid-electric models is proof that economic development and responsible environmental policy are compatible.
FedEx hopes to use the initiative as a catalyst for the development and use of hybrid-electric delivery vehicles across the industFedEx opened the Bronx station in March, becoming the only overnight carrier in the area to feature a World Service Center, where residents have easy access to the company’s various shipping services.
In April, the company also announced it was expanding its global fleet of hybrid-electric trucks in Europe.
