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Did the Milkman use an Electric Car in the ‘50s and ‘60s?
I was doing some quick research on the use of electric cars in the delivery industry, and I heard about the use of electric cars for milk delivery. Did the milkman—milk delivery service—use electric cars in the ‘50s and ‘60s?
Marlee John · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Great question! Yes even before the ‘50s and ‘60s
electric vehicles
were used for milk delivery in England. The milk trucks—or milk floats in British terms—were invented back in 1889. The first battery-powered vehicles drove at a speed of about 2 miles per hour. By the 1940s many milk and bread delivery companies were using these trucks to deliver throughout the neighborhood.
The vehicles are free from road tax, inexpensive to recharge, and can travel up to 80 miles (128 km) on a single charge. The trucks are quiet and pollution-free which makes them excellent candidates for driving through residential neighborhoods in the early dark hours of the morning.
Today while the milk delivery service has been made obsolete due to the high availability of supermarkets, milk trucks and floats haven’t completely faded.
In some small towns, they may still be used but a lot of the other trucks get rented out for charity events. In some parts of England, milk floats are also used to deliver fresh fruits and veggies.
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