Amazon gets patent to convert public buses into mobile pickup lockers
Jan 31, 2019, 6:17 AM | Updated: Feb 3, 2019, 8:53 pm
Amazon seems constantly in search of new ways to deliver a package. They’ve used designated lockers, accessed homes or even cars, and recently began testing robot delivery in Snohomish County.
Simply dropping off a package is just too old-fashioned for nation’s biggest online retailer.
On Tuesday, Amazon found yet another method and received a patent that would turn public buses into mobile delivery stations, reports The Mercury News. This would not involve having each of the bus passengers hold a package and deliver them. Instead, Amazon would attach a removable delivery module to the bus, and customers could pick up their package when it’s in the area.
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Here’s how it would work: Customers would choose from a list of bus stops near their address, and then select a time window when the bus is scheduled to stop. Then they’d simply have to wait with those who are actually waiting to ride the bus.
Beyond offering another method to get packages for those who don’t live near delivery carriers or Amazon lockers, the move could be beneficial to public transit systems potentially looking for increased revenue, as some transit systems have seen a hit as result of Lyft and Uber usage.
If anything, it would put a lot of pressure on people to catch the bus, because if you missed the bus, you’d miss the package.
