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Royal Mail are rolling out 3,500 solar-powered “postboxes of the future” across the UK, featuring a digitally activated drop-down drawer so customers can send parcels as large as a shoebox.
The new design, the biggest change to the postbox in its 175-year history, was trialled in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire earlier this year, and sees the new designs being rolled out in Cumbria.
Two postboxes are currently being upgraded in Penrith and Maryport and will be operational in the coming weeks.
Howard Moore said: “More reliance on technology. Wi-Fi and signal isn’t getting any better. Systems going down or being hacked are increasing.
“Arrogantly assuming everyone uses apps.”
Kathy Bartlett said: “Many older people do have smartphones, but in any case it’s not compulsory to use the (convenient) drop-down parcel box.
“There is a standard letter slot and you can still take your parcels to the Post Office if you prefer.”
Customers scan a barcode on the Royal Mail app to open the drawer, which is designed for parcels too large to fit through the traditional slot.
The redesigned boxes also feature a separate slot for letters, as well as a solar panel to power the scanner and drawer mechanism.
Proof of posting and parcel tracking is available through the Royal Mail app, with the new service aimed at those sending or returning items purchased online.
Royal Mail said, in a statement regarding the postboxes: “Our postboxes of the future offer another convenient way for customers to access Royal Mail’s services, alongside home delivery and collection, our Customer Service Points, Post Office branches, lockers and Royal Mail Shop outlets.”
Poppy Taylor said: “Leave well alone for heaven’s sake get delivery and pricing sorted out.”
