In a recent interview, Juergen Gerdes of Deutsche Post DHL, said that the company is looking at transporting parcels in the hold of long distances buses to carry out deliveries to customers. According to Gerdes, the idea is to use the German network of buses that carries passengers between 120 cities.

Deutsche Post DHL is currently testing delivery methods, including lockers, with a view to seeing which one customers preferred. Transporting parcels by a bus network should reduce delivery times in comparison with Deutsche Post’s usual distribution network.

Juergen Gerdes is quoted as saying “We’ll go with whatever our customers prefer. When we developed the parcel locker more than 10 years ago, no one but us believed it would work. Now it has 8 million registered users.”

Deutsche Post’s Postbus Division operates a fleet of 90 yellow buses which provides passenger transport services. Whilst the idea has been floated, how parcels would get to the end customer has not yet been considered.

The locker system is also central to Deutsche Post’s eCommerce and Parcel business unit, with a strong nationwide network of lockers where customers can post or collect parcels 24 hours a day.

Deutsche Post has emphasized that transporting parcels in PostBus buses is simply part of an ongoing testing strategy and that there are no concrete plans.

Apex Insight has recently published a report looking into Parcel Shops and Locker Networks across Europe: European Parcel Shop and Locker Networks Market Insight Report 2015