Amazon facility in Pontiac using electric vans to deliver packages to customers
PONTIAC, Mich, (CBS DETROIT) - At the Amazon delivery station in Pontiac, tens of thousands of packages are shipped out for delivery daily.
As of last month, the vehicle they get delivered in looks a bit different.
"It's for comfortable delivering, more room, more space," said Kayla Dudley.
You may have seen Amazon's latest vehicle on the road, the Rivian Electric Delivery Van, Dudley's newest mode of work transportation as of late September.
"We just started getting them on the road for the past two weeks," she said.
Dudley works for Amazon's Pontiac delivery station as a driver.
"It's really calming, it's really easy, and customers are really nice," she said.
Each day, she delivers hundreds of packages to customers across Metro Detroit.
"Right now, it's about 300 to 400 packages and it's about 200 houses I'm going to," Dudley said.
Based on her experience as a driver, she says these Rivian Electric Vans have already made a huge difference when it comes to deliveries.
"The navigation on the steering wheel makes it way easier instead of looking at my phone, and the van comes with Wi-Fi because we go to a lot of areas that don't have any service, so the Wi-Fi in the van still allows us to deliver the package," she said.
With nearly 10,000 of these vehicles across the United States, Amazon's Pontiac facility is the first and only operations site in Metro Detroit to use these electric vans to deliver packages.
Right now, the facility has a fleet of more than 150.
Dudley says the vehicles ensure accessibility, sustainability, and a more efficient navigation/display.
"It makes it easier to see my whole route because it pulls up all my stops, so I'm no longer guessing and choosing where I'm going to be at. I know where I'm going to go and I know which way to turn," she stated.
Some of the features of the electric van include automatic doors and a 360-degree camera so drivers can see their surroundings.
Dudley says these electric vans are the way of the future.
"I do believe they are for the future. It's definitely going to make it a lot easier because those smaller cargo vans, they get our drivers a little bit stressful especially having so many packages. With this, we have so much room and it's easier to maneuver through so less drivers will be irritated," she said.
The Rivian Electric Delivery Vehicle was launched nationwide last July.
So far, they've already delivered more than 360-million packages to customers. An Amazon spokesperson says the goal is to have nearly 100,000 electric delivery vans on the road by 2030.
