Deutsche Post DHL is to test a same day delivery service via its national bus network in Germany. The service will enable people and businesses that need goods delivered urgently to drop off and pick up parcels via the national bus network.

The service will begin testing on buses out of Berlin and Hamburg. People who need a parcel to be sent will drop the parcel at the bus station and pay €20 cash in advance. A member of staff will bag the parcel up and lock it in the bus, and the parcel will be sent to the destination bus stop. The person receiving the parcel will securely identify themselves, and collect it from the bus.

The service will be available to private as well as small business customers and is seen as another customer friendly dispatch solution across the country in addition to the DHL courier service. If proven to be viable and secure then it is likely the service will be rolled out to all major cities across Germany in the next year.

CEO of Mail Communication at Deutsche Post Achim Dünnwald said of the new service, “Postbus Courier is a new same-day delivery option that gives our customers another choice, using our intercity bus network for shipping particularly urgent items.”

The same day transport service will be available once per day throughout the introductory phase of the service while the system is being tested. With same day delivery being the latest thrust of ecommerce, this service should answer demand that is building for smaller scale deliveries. Whether this service can be replicated outside of Germany by the communications giant is unlikely though other national operators may consider similar operations. Could National Express follow suit in the UK?