Estimate calories and kilojoules burned delivering mail — walking a delivery round, riding a motorbike round, or riding an electronically assisted bicycle round — based on your body weight and shift length. Australia Post posties and other delivery workers cover a huge range of physical effort depending on how they deliver, and this calculator uses verified MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities to turn a shift into a genuine energy-expenditure estimate.
Mail delivery calorie burn depends heavily on the delivery method, captured here as three tiers: walking mail delivery (MET 2.3), motorbike mail delivery (MET 1.5), and electronically assisted bicycle mail delivery (MET 3.5). The formula is calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). A 75 kg posty on a 6-hour shift burns 1,035 kcal (4,330 kJ) walking their round, 675 kcal (2,824 kJ) on a motorbike round, and 1,575 kcal (6,590 kJ) on an e-bike round — the e-bike round burns the most of the three because of the frequent stopping, dismounting and carrying involved, even with electric assistance.
| Delivery Method | MET | Calories | Kilojoules |
|---|
The calculation uses a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for your delivery method, your body weight, and the duration of your shift. This calculator uses three MET tiers taken directly from the Occupation codes in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — walking mail delivery (code 11486, "Mail carrier, walking to deliver mail", MET 2.3), motorbike mail delivery (code 11487, "Mail delivery, motorbike", MET 1.5), and electronically assisted bicycle mail delivery (code 11488, "Mail delivery, Electronically Assisted Bicycle", MET 3.5). None of these three codes are flagged as estimated in the Compendium — all three are literature-supported entries.
| Delivery Method | MET | Calories (75 kg, 6 hr) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking mail delivery | 2.3 | 1,035 kcal | 4,330 kJ |
| Motorbike mail delivery | 1.5 | 675 kcal | 2,824 kJ |
| Electronically assisted bicycle mail delivery | 3.5 | 1,575 kcal | 6,590 kJ |
Mail delivery covers a genuinely wide range of physical effort, which is exactly why this calculator uses three separate tiers rather than a single number. Walking mail delivery is the classic posty round on foot — carrying a mail bag from letterbox to letterbox, up and down driveways and footpaths, for a sustained working shift. Motorbike mail delivery covers posties who ride a motorbike or scooter between delivery points, typically over rural or larger suburban rounds — the bike does most of the travelling work, leaving mainly the dismount-deliver-remount cycle to burn energy, which is why it sits at the lowest MET of the three. Electronically assisted bicycle mail delivery is the newest of the three tiers and, perhaps counterintuitively, carries the highest MET value — the frequent stopping, starting, dismounting, balancing a loaded bike and carrying mail to the letterbox adds up to more sustained effort across a shift than either walking or riding a motorbike, even with the electric motor reducing the pure pedalling load.
Walking and e-bike mail delivery rounds both sit at intensities that can genuinely contribute to daily physical activity, since both involve continuous movement, frequent stops, and carrying a mail load across a working shift. Motorbike delivery is comparatively lower-intensity, since the bike carries most of the travelling workload. Whether a specific round counts towards a particular physical activity guideline or weekly target depends on the intensity and duration involved, and general population physical activity guidelines are published by the Australian Government Department of Health and by the World Health Organization. This calculator provides a general estimate of energy expenditure only — it isn't personalised health advice, so anyone wanting to know how a mail delivery job fits into a specific health or fitness plan should refer to official guidelines or speak with a healthcare professional.
The table below holds delivery method constant at the walking tier (MET 2.3) for a 6-hour shift, so you can see how much body weight alone changes the total.
| Body Weight | MET | Calories (6 hr) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 2.3 | 759 kcal | 3,176 kJ |
| 65 kg | 2.3 | 897 kcal | 3,753 kJ |
| 70 kg | 2.3 | 966 kcal | 4,042 kJ |
| 75 kg | 2.3 | 1,035 kcal | 4,330 kJ |
| 85 kg | 2.3 | 1,173 kcal | 4,908 kJ |
| 95 kg | 2.3 | 1,311 kcal | 5,485 kJ |
Here body weight is fixed at 75 kg while both shift length and delivery method change, so you can compare how much a longer shift and a different delivery method each add to the total.
| Shift Length | Walking (MET 2.3) | Motorbike (MET 1.5) | E-Bike (MET 3.5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 hours | 690 kcal / 2,887 kJ | 450 kcal / 1,883 kJ | 1,050 kcal / 4,393 kJ |
| 6 hours | 1,035 kcal / 4,330 kJ | 675 kcal / 2,824 kJ | 1,575 kcal / 6,590 kJ |
| 8 hours | 1,380 kcal / 5,774 kJ | 900 kcal / 3,766 kJ | 2,100 kcal / 8,786 kJ |
Australian nutrition panels list energy in kilojoules, not calories, so it's worth converting your shift into the same unit your food packaging uses. Multiply your calorie figure by 4.184 to get kilojoules. A 75 kg posty walking a 6-hour round burns about 1,035 kcal, which is roughly 4,330 kJ — a useful figure to weigh up against the energy value printed on a post-shift snack or drink.
How many calories does a postie burn walking their round?
It depends on body weight and shift length, but using MET 2.3 for walking mail delivery, a 75 kg posty walking a 6-hour round burns around 1,035 kcal (about 4,330 kJ). Lighter or heavier posties, and shorter or longer shifts, will see proportionally lower or higher numbers, so use the calculator above with your own weight and duration for a personalised estimate.
Does a motorbike mail round burn fewer calories than walking?
Yes. Motorbike mail delivery uses MET 1.5, compared with MET 2.3 for walking delivery, because the motorbike carries most of the physical workload between stops, leaving mainly the dismount-deliver-remount cycle to burn energy. Over an identical 6-hour shift, a 75 kg rider on a motorbike round burns around 675 kcal (2,824 kJ), compared with around 1,035 kcal (4,330 kJ) walking the same length shift — roughly 35% fewer calories.
How does e-bike mail delivery compare to walking for calories burned?
Electronically assisted bicycle mail delivery actually carries the highest MET value of the three delivery modes in this calculator, at MET 3.5, ahead of walking (MET 2.3) and motorbike delivery (MET 1.5). This reflects the frequent stopping, starting, dismounting, carrying mail bags and balancing a loaded bike that comes with an e-bike round, even though the electric motor reduces the pure pedalling effort. Over a 6-hour shift, a 75 kg e-bike posty burns around 1,575 kcal (6,590 kJ), more than either walking or motorbike delivery over the same shift length.
Is being a mail carrier or postie good exercise?
Walking and e-bike mail delivery rounds both sit at intensities that can genuinely contribute to daily physical activity, since both involve continuous movement, frequent stops, and carrying mail across a working shift. Motorbike delivery is lower-intensity by comparison, since the bike does most of the travelling work. Whether a specific round counts towards a particular physical activity guideline depends on intensity and duration — this calculator gives a general energy-expenditure estimate only, not personalised health advice, so for physical activity targets refer to official guidelines or speak with a healthcare professional.
How does a full 8-hour shift compare to a shorter 4-hour shift?
Because calories burned scale directly with shift duration, a longer shift simply multiplies the hourly rate. A 75 kg posty walking a 4-hour round burns around 690 kcal (2,887 kJ), while the same posty walking an 8-hour round burns around 1,380 kcal (5,774 kJ) — exactly double, since duration is a straight multiplier in the calorie formula.
How many calories does an Australia Post posty burn in a typical working week?
It depends on how many shifts are worked and which delivery method is used each day, but the numbers add up quickly. A 75 kg posty walking a 6-hour round five days a week burns roughly 1,035 kcal per shift, which comes to around 5,175 kcal across five walking shifts — before accounting for any motorbike or e-bike rounds mixed into the week. Run each shift through the calculator above and add the results together for a more accurate weekly total based on your actual roster.
Does body weight change how many calories a mail carrier burns delivering mail?
Yes. Because calories equal MET multiplied by body weight in kilograms multiplied by duration in hours, body weight is a direct multiplier in the formula. Over an identical 6-hour walking round, an 85 kg posty burns around 1,173 kcal compared with around 759 kcal for a 55 kg posty completing the same round at the same walking pace.
How do I convert calories burned delivering mail into kilojoules?
Multiply the calorie figure by 4.184, the standard conversion between kilocalories and kilojoules used on Australian food labels. A 75 kg posty walking a 6-hour round burns around 1,035 kcal, which converts to roughly 4,330 kJ — a useful figure to compare against the energy value on a post-shift snack or drink.