Working as an Amazon delivery driver has become a whole lot better for those who are now behind the wheel of a Rivian-made delivery van. We’ve seen some videos from drivers themselves showing off the EDV’s multitude of unique features, but now they have caught the attention of CNBC, which followed one driver around to see what it’s like to operate one of these EVs for a day.
There are now over 1,000 Amazon EDVs in service after having been initially rolled out in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, San Diego, St. Louis, Seattle, Nashville, Las Vegas and Phoenix, among others (already up to 100 cities, according to Amazon). The rollout began in July and continued through 2022, representing a small fraction of the order it placed with Rivian for 100,000 vans to be delivered by 2030.
In many of these cities, if you ordered something for Christmas, it may have been delivered to you in a new EDV. And even though Amazon’s goal with the introduction of electric transport and delivery vehicles is to completely eliminate its carbon emissions by 2040, it really seems to be making drivers’ lives a whole lot better.
Amazon is known for the often harsh working conditions that it subjects its employees to, and this includes delivery drivers too. However, with the amount of tech and cool features that the van has, it seems the e-commerce giant is trying to change that perception, even though it doesn't directly hire the drivers - they are actually employed by third party delivery companies which are subcontracted by Amazon.
Based on this video and others that we’ve seen, driving an EDV for an entire day is a whole lot less stressful than doing the same in a more traditional van. The EDV has much better visibility, cameras all around, active and passive safety systems, as well as convenience features such as an automatic cargo area door that opens when you put the vehicle in the park position.
