First drones, now bicycles.
The Wall Street Journal reports this afternoon that Amazon is testing a bike courier delivery program in New York CIty, the latest move by the Seattle online giant to get packages to your door in as little time as possible.
Hailed as “Amazon Prime Now,” the service would have bike couriers delivering items around town less than an hour after a customer orders online, according to the WSJ. Amazon is reportedly holding time trials from its new building on West 34th Street where couriers have a place to hang out in between deliveries, complete with foosball tables and an arcade.
This is the latest attempt from Amazon to speed up its delivery process, as the company has explored the use of everything from drones to taxi vehicles to storage lockers. Amazon currently offers same-day delivery ($5.99 for Prime users; $8.99 for others) in about a dozen U.S. markets, and recently expanded the service to Canada.
Amazon faces stiff competition in the same-day delivery arena from both tech giants and small startups. eBay operates eBay Now in four markets — though it has recently scaled back plans for the service — while Google and Walmart have tried something similar. Startups like Instacart, Postmates, WunWun, and Deliv also offer ways for customers to have items delivered within 24 hours. Even Uber has tested out its own bike courier service in New York City called UberRUSH.
