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Attractive photo of mail delivery trucks courtesy of the kind folks at Canada Post.In a climate of surging fuel prices and environmental concern, it’s cost, more than technology, which still presents a major barrier to the adoption of electric cars.

But the mailman could play a role delivering a battery-powered, zero emission future on the roads.

Canada Post represents one of the largest transportation fleets in the country.

Its armada of 7,000 mostly gas guzzlers lurched its way down more than 76 million kilometers of roadway last year, burning up 24 million litres of fuel and pumping out 59,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the process.

As part of the flagship fleet of a federal government that’s looking to encourage fuel-efficient vehicles in the consumer market, the typical Canada Post delivery truck isn’t exactly a beacon of progress in the public sector.

With clearly defined, relatively short delivery routes in urban centres, today’s already available electric engine technology could be well suited to Canada Post’s needs.

But despite a long interest in going electric, Canada Post has taken only a few cautious steps to transform its fleet towards alternative fuel technology.

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Here in my car: Lowell Leifso stands beside his factory made plug-in electric Toyota RAV4.Lowell Leifso hasn't filled up at a gas station once since he bought a sparkling grey Toyota RAV4 earlier this year. It makes his presence at a Chevron on the corner of a Surrey boulevard all the more unlikely.

Leifso's commuter vehicle would look like any of the other popular Toyota crossover SUV models on the road today, if it weren't for the bright "electric vehicle" decals he has stuck to the car.

"It's quite an attention grabber," Leifso admits, as a few onlookers sneak a peak at his ride. "People ask questions like, 'Did you build it? Where can I get one?' Most people are just really interested to know a little bit more about it."

Leifso's 2003 model was among the last of the plug-in electric vehicles Toyota retailed in California before shutting down its line.

It's proven its worth to Leifso already. While acceleration on the vehicle is noticeably sluggish, the car can zip down the highway at a 130 kilometres an hour max. And with a range of about 160 km, it costs about $2 to "fill up" when he charges up the RAV4 at home through a paddle that slips in under the front grill.

That's about one-fifth of the cost of filling up a regular gas-powered RAV4, Leifso says.

And as gas prices head north of $1 per litre and car companies continue their very public struggle to survive, the interest in alternative fuel technologies is only spiking.

Today, most major manufacturers have rushed to promise electric vehicles for the market within years. GM, Dodge, Ford, Nissan, Renault, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Toyota all have models in the works, to varying degrees. Canadian auto-parts magnate Frank Stronach wants to mass-produce electric cars within three years.

But what are the chances of the technology succeeding? Is the idea that electric vehicles will be widespread in just a few years merely a pipe dream?

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