Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Hybrid Delivery

Hybrid public transportation/parcel delivery service
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A combination between the public bus and the mail van. The bus station would also incorporate a large-parcel postal station. Before making their run, the bus would be loaded up with parcels for people along the route. When the bus, through GPS, comes to within maybe 10 minutes of the designated drop off bus stop, an automatic text/call/email/IM will go out to the sendee, alerting him to come to the bus stop for pick up. Once the bus and sendee arrive at the bus stop, the parcel is delivered (and maybe a tip given). This would help public transportation subsidize their costs while not making any major changes to their operations.
twitch, Sep 20 2010

Bus-mounted mailbox Bus-mounted_20mailbox
Prior Art [8th of 7, Sep 21 2010]

Baked Baked Baked http://www.povehclub.org.uk/postbus.html
Information from the Post Office Vehicle Club, including a link to the Postbus Appreciation Society [pocmloc, Sep 21 2010]

[link]






       Most people would bitch about a system like this...but, that doesn't make it a bad idea. [+]
Boomershine, Sep 21 2010
  

       One possiblity that conforms to current setups a bit better would be to have the mail carrier ride the bus to one stop, deliver to the next stop, and then the next bus along either picks the carrier up or hands them the next sack of mail to be delivered. The latter would require some coordination and timing work, but should be feasible.
MechE, Sep 21 2010
  

       It would certainly be preferable to having mail delivery vans following the same routes as buses, using more fossil fuels for roughly the same benefit.
infidel, Sep 21 2010
  

       you could also have bonded riders who could deliver packages to the addressee in exchange for free fare.
nomocrow, Sep 21 2010
  

       What if it's an express bus? I want the mail to be hanging in a sack from a hook on the bus station, and the bus grabs it on the fly without stopping. Then, there's an area in the back of the bus where clerks sort the mail, and it's tossed out the window as the bus races past the destination. Like the Flying Scottsman.
mouseposture, Sep 22 2010
  

       taking note of the postbus link, i think it would be adequate if only 1 delivery bus per day per route would be needed. If anything, they could even deliver mail to the more rural post offices.
twitch, Sep 22 2010
  
      
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