Amazon has seen the future — and it is a pushcart on the New York subway. The online retail giant has started delivering parcels to its Manhattan customers using the city’s underground train network, having discovered what New Yorkers have known for years: it can be much quicker than driving.
In December, Amazon started piloting an ultra-fast service, Prime Now, which promises to deliver popular items such as phone chargers, soap and pet food in as little as an hour for $7.99, or within two hours for free. The scheme was launched in New York, but has since been rolled out in a handful of other US cities, including Miami and Dallas.
Two delivery workers pushing large trolleys of Amazon parcels on the subway said the company was using underground trains for most Prime Now deliveries because traffic on Manhattan’s gridlocked streets made it impossible to honour a 60-minute guarantee. Both asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.