TWO dozen new parcel postboxes have been installed across south London in an effort to cut queuing times at the Post Office.
The 24 new boxes have been unveiled across the BR, CR, SE and SM postcodes. They are a small fraction of roughly 1,300 new boxes across the country.
The change will allow people to send parcels at all times of the day while queuing times in Post Offices are expected to be reduced. It is hoped this will help out small businesses and “marketplace sellers”.
Before sending a parcel, anyone wanting to use the new boxes will have to go to the Click & Drop system on the Post Office website to print a label. Packages can also be returned, although only if the original had a Royal Mail barcode.
Mark Street, head of campaigns at Royal Mail said: “The introduction of parcel postboxes in south London means that customers can now send parcels with pre-paid postage and their returns in the same way that they do letters.
“The new parcel postboxes provide added flexibility to online sellers who might be running a business in their spare time and not keeping regular office hours.”
A spokesman for the Post Office added: “This is the first time parcel postboxes have been widely introduced in the UK, and the launch represents the first major change of use for the postbox since it was introduced 160 years ago.
“The launch of parcel postboxes is also one of the biggest innovations in parcels since the launch of Parcel Post in 1883.”