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Financially-strapped U.S. Postal Service Looks To Lease Mail Delivery Vans

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The financially-strapped United States Postal Service is apparently looking to rent cargo vans to be used as mail delivery vehicles.

According to an ad submitted to the Federal Business Opportunities website soliciting federal contract bids, the vans the USPS is looking for are "minivans, cargo vans and high roof cargo vans (Mercedes Sprinter, Dodge Promaster, Ford Transit)," to be leased for about three years.

"Currently, there are no leased minivans or cargo vans in the fleet," the post says, but "As the USPS fleet ages we anticipate that the rental duration and number of leases will increase of the next few years as the vehicle fleet ages. Presently, there are not sufficient capital funds to purchase new equipment."

In other words, the USPS can't afford to replace its aging fleet – yet another sign of its increasing financial distress.

Last year, the agency defaulted on payments to the U.S. Treasury, Saturday mail service threatened to be cut and in the Philadelphia area, hundreds of jobs were cut and several post offices closed.

The USPS currently has a fleet of about 212,500 vehicles – one of the largest civilian fleets in the world.

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