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Comment by cpncrunch | Hacker News Reader

>professional drivers can not lose 30 minutes every 400 miles on these routes to charge, they will miss all their drop times.

Except, that isn't how it would have to work. It would make sense for the company to pay the driver for charging time. In BC a 400 mile drive would cost C$514 in diesel ($2/l, 40l/100km), or $112 in electricity (at 1.25kwhr/km and $0.14/kwhr), so presumably the driver could be paid $100 for the 30 min charging stop, and the company will still save $300 for each 400 mile leg.

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And some of the stops would have had to occur anyway because of bladders, drive time regulations, etc.

You bring up a good point that fuel savings may be sufficient to compensate drivers for extra time with plenty left over.

The jugs of yellow fluid discarded along highways tell a different story.

The real center-seating advantage

10h on, 8h off. A 400 mile trip does not require off-time or stops unless somehow you get so snarled in traffic that you're averaging less than 40mph. Drivers are really good at avoiding needing to stop the rig for bathroom stops.

For instance, in the Netherlands a driver can only drive for 4.5hr before having a 45min mandatory break.

https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/werktijden/vraag-en...

Does this interfere with (a) regulation on max time a driver can work, and (b) just in time delivery times etc?

Not a lorry driver so just asking.

I love how your reply uses real numbers and calculations , and is still down voted, because people don’t like the reality those numbers represent.

I’m always scared when seemingly intelligent people disagree with math and facts.

It's not about pay, it's about delivery windows. The driver gets paid nothing relative to the cost of late delivery. Companies also aren't going to hire the trucker that quotes an extra day because of charging.

What I'm saying is that it can be factored in. In this particular instance (PepsiCo and the other companies mentioned) we're not talking about truckers buying electric trucks or quoting for jobs. We're talking about companies like PepsiCo buying electric trucks and hiring drivers to drive them.

And 30 mins of charging every 8 hours is unlikely to significantly change the delivery time anyway.

About 50% of truckers in the US are owner operators, meaning about half of all truckers on the road own their truck and as such buy (electric) trucks and quote for jobs.

Companies are in the business of making money, if a private contractor is cheaper (and faster) than their in-house logistics who do you think is going to be axed?

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