Royal Mail is experimenting Five new stages powered by solar energydesigned to respond to the growing need to send parcels and the progressive decrease in traditional correspondence. This initiative represents the most significant transformation of the design of iconic red cassettes for over 175 years.
The new stations have been installed in Fowlmere, in the Cambridgeshireand in Four locations in Hertfordshire: Letchworth, Hertford and two points in Ware. These cassettes not only keep the classic opening for sending letters, but present A separate and wider crack dedicated to packagesmaking the service more practical for users.
How new mailboxes work
The experimental mailboxes are equipped with solar panelswhich feed A video surveillance system with video camera integrated. This device is designed for scan the bar code present on the package, thus allowing The automatic opening of a dedicated counter to the Colli deposit.
Confirmation of the shipment can be downloaded through a dedicated appthus guaranteeing traceability and greater safety for the user. This new system responds to an increasingly widespread need among British citizens: Sell objects online and return purchases made on e-commerce In a simple and quick way, without having to physically access the post offices.
Second Emma Gilthorpe, CEO of Royal Mailit is a historical transformation:
In an era when the letters are falling and packages grow rapidly, we are offering a new life to our iconic red cassettes on the streets of the whole nation.
History of the mailboxes in the United Kingdom: from Verdi to Red, now ready for the digital era
The current experimentation represents the most important novelty for British mailboxes from their debut in 1852when the first Four cast iron prototypes were installed in Jersey. Curiously, at the time the cassettes were greenbut they were Red repainted starting from 1874 Because citizens found them difficult to identify.
Over the years, there have been other aesthetic and functional changes:
Today the United Kingdom counts About 115,000 mailboxesmost of which are already able to receive small packages. However, Royal Mail provides that thousands of boxes could be adapted to the new design to also accommodate larger hills.
The future of the postal delivery passes from the Smart boxes
With the spread of e-commerce and online platforms for the sale of used objects, The demand for the most flexible postal services is constantly growing. Royal Mail focuses on this cultural change to relaunch the usefulness of the mailboxes, transforming them into multifunction tools suitable for the times.
According to the company, this is an evolution necessary to make The sending of packages is more convenient And modernize the service consistently with today’s customers’ habits.
