Well there was this thing called 'BufferBox' in Canada and a similar thing in the US, essentially semi-private boxes into which mail could be placed with a temp

Well there was this thing called 'BufferBox' in Canada and a similar thing in the US, essentially semi-private boxes into which mail could be placed with a temp. combo. The UW grads that sold it to Google were borderline arrogant about it, boldly assumptive about how they were going to change how packages were delivered in Canada. That was 10 years ago and of course nothing has happened. I suggest there are some fairly simple technological solutions along those lines (i.e. a series of larger boxes in each building with a temp code) that could really work, but that the USPS etc. are fundamentally not interested in doing anything innovative. Private entities just aren't positioned to do this, as the pervasive nature of 'mail' is something that lends to socialised/government action. I really wish UPS/FedEx/Amazon would get together in this because collectively they have enough power to lobby/influence enough cities to create a critical mass for this, and they have the incentive and operational capabilities to do it. Making boxes available for purchase for homes, having everything standardised etc. and the legal issues sorted out around it would be so beneficial. It's one area where we hardly need 'new tech' rather some 'operational innovation' at scale.