The new postie e-vehicle will service Coorparoo, Woolloongabba and East Brisbane over an eight week period. It has three times the parcel carrying capacity of the current postie motorbike and can hold up to 100 small parcels and 1,200 letters at a time.

Queensland State Manager Angela Creedon said Brisbane is a perfect city for the next phase of the electric delivery vehicle rollout with locals increasingly embracing online shopping, and more small parcels being delivered than ever before.

“We know that residents in Brisbane love online shopping. In fact the yearly growth rate in the area is over eight per cent,” Ms Creedon said. “Fashion, books, health and beauty products and recreational goods are the most popular purchases among local residents. Our parcels business generates over 70 per cent of our total revenue. Ten years ago parcels contributed less than 25 per cent of our revenue.

“As our business transforms so too are the jobs that our workforce are doing. A few years ago we equipped our posties so they can deliver small parcels and this latest initiative will allow them to deliver even more – helping to ensure their roles remain meaningful well into the future. While letter volumes have nearly halved, this is another example of how Australia Post is looking at ways to keep our posties delivering for Australians.”

The pilot comes off the back of Australia Post announcing a $197 million before-tax half-year profit, driven largely by a 5.7 per cent volume growth in the parcels business and postal losses reduced to breakeven.

The e-vehicles are already successfully used in Germany and Switzerland, with international postal authorities seeing benefits including greater carrying capacity, improved rider safety and lower vehicle emissions.