42 | New Scientist | 7 September 2019The last-mile
revolution
Our love of online shopping has caused a pile-up
of polluting vans. Chris Stokel-Walker navigates
the technology that can reinvent home delivery
JASON RAISH
Features
P
AUL WRIGHT didn’t know what to
expect when he showed up for his new
job. For the previous few years he had
earned his keep playing online poker. But he
was in a relationship now and needed a stable
income. With a lengthy gap in his CV, he had
decided to take work where there was lots of
demand: as a delivery driver for Amazon.
It was a rude awakening. One of his first
shifts involved driving some 50 kilometres
around the north-east of England, including
through a toll system, dropping off packages as
he went. “By the time you take off the £1.70 toll
charge and the petrol for that huge route, it
makes your hourly rate terrible,” says Wright.
He was driving great distances, criss-crossing
the region, yet earning less than he had from
the comfort of his living room.