The Assent of Driverless Vehicles on Mail & Package Delivery

The Assent of Driverless Vehicles on Mail & Package Delivery

I have been following closely the development of driverless vehicles. This has the potential for significant impact on delivery services. Recently, driverless trucks successfully made long-distance trips in the United States; a driver was present in case intervention became needed. This system could be used for large deliveries to business or manufacturing establishments.

Amazon, an online retailer, has grown so significantly over the recent past that established businesses, like Sears, are threatened with bankruptcy. Package delivery services like UPS have been unusually busy recently. Delivery businesses will seek ways to make their service more efficient and reliable. The driverless UPS or FedEx truck is on the horizon. Similarly, the US Postal Service may adopt driverless vehicles.

The use of driverless trucks for mail and package delivery would require some procedural and utility modifications. Leaving deliveries at the front door would be problematic for robots to handle. Also, delivery would be slowed down when robots have to climb stairs. A more practical and less expensive system would be to have special boxes near the curb where packages and mail could be quickly inserted. Packages beyond the size of the container would have to be delivered separately. The curbside container would remain locked when closed. The delivery truck would contain a transponder that would unlock any container keylessly and automatically. A robotic device would insert the delivery and close the container. The recipient of the mail or package would be alerted wirelessly and have a key to unlock the container.

Driverless trucks would result in significant savings and more efficient delivery 24/7. Unfortunately, the loss of jobs would be significant; affecting those who probably have no more than a high school education. I believe this will become a growing problem in the future as the application of automation with robots increases. The likelihood of a Universal Basic Income (UBS) will grow. The government will have to impose a tax on businesses proportional to the degree that automation has replaced workers. Additionally, government-sponsored, free recreational and educational activities will need to be offered to counter the effects of an idle population.