The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Wednesday that it is expanding LockerNYC, the Big Apple’s free public delivery locker program, just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season — and the bevy of boxes bearing gifts set to be delivered.
The DOT launched LockerNYC with the company GoLocker as a pilot program in April to give New Yorkers what the agency describes as a “safe and secure option” for getting packages using lockers on public sidewalks and other locations.
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said at a Nov. 27 press conference in Washington Heights that the expanded program will help ensure packages get where they belong, with the shopping season just about here.
“The holiday season is already stressful enough,” he said. “LockerNYC is here to make sure your package lands in the right hands — your hands.”
The DOT added 12 new lockers, totaling 19 around Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Eight of the lockers are located inside local businesses.
DOT officials said the program serves multiple delivery carriers, including UPS, DHL and Pitney-Bowes.
Locker locations are equipped with security cameras, LED lighting and anti-theft mechanisms on locker compartments to help ensure security, according to the DOT.
New Yorkers can sign up for free and manage orders on NYC DOT’s website, nyc.gov/dot. Once a package is confirmed to be delivered, users access GoLocker facilities using a secure code sent by the locker company. At that point, users have 48 hours to pick up their parcels.
More than 90,000 packages are reported stolen or lost every day in NYC, according to the DOT. Many houses and buildings lack secure areas to drop off and pick up packages, leaving them open and available to porch pirates.
But city officials said LockerNYC has reduced that number. Since the DOT launched the program, New Yorkers have made nearly 5,000 reservations using the locker system for secure package pickup and dropoff.
“Every 5,000 orders have been getting to their apartments safely, and no theft happened during that process,” Rodriguez said.
2.5 million packages to be delivered this holiday season
NYC DOT ramped up the pilot program to reduce package theft during the busy holiday shopping season. According to Rodriguez, an estimated 2.5 million packages will be delivered daily through the holidays.
“Now, instead of having to go building to building to make deliveries, LockerNYC lockers allow delivery carriers to make deliveries to one central location,” Rodriguez said.
The program is more than halfway through its year-long pilot run. The DOT plans to collect data to evaluate its success for potential expansion.
So far, the results look merry and bright, according to Kerry Caylor, GoLocker’s CEO.
“Thousands of packages have moved through the lockers and we’ve seen exponential growth of 30% of residents registering and choosing this type of solution for those packages,” Caylor said.
While security has been the driving force behind the program, LockerNYC is also one of several ways — including congestion pricing — city and state officials say they are alleviating traffic buildup around the city.
And just this week, the DOT cracked down on double parking and congestion by installing 500 new loading zones for deliveries around the five boroughs.
