Amazon eyes package pickup on public transport
Amazon has won a patent for a service enabling customers to pick up their packages from buses and similar vehicles.
Patent abstract as follows: “A mobile pickup location is provided that may be associated with a vehicle such as a public bus. A user may choose to have items delivered to a mobile pickup location on a public bus which the user takes every day travelling from the office to home, or which stops at a bus stop that is convenient for the user.”
“Also, in regions where carriers for delivering items are rare or prohibitively expensive, a mobile pickup location may be utilised to deliver items, such as to a rural village. The coordinates of a mobile pickup location may be tracked, such as with GPS, and a user may be provided with a notification when a mobile pickup location with an ordered item is approaching, such as with a text message sent to a cell phone.”
No news on if Amazon plans to develop this further, or whether it will join the pile of retailer patents that sound cool but don’t result in commercial applications.
