Incheon, South Korea – Incheon Metropolitan City announced on October 28th that its groundbreaking "Half-Price Delivery Service for Small Businesses" utilizing the Incheon Subway system has been met with enthusiastic response from local entrepreneurs.
The half-price delivery service operates through two channels: Incheon Subway delivery and vehicle pickup.
For the subway service, small businesses can drop off their packages at collection centers located within 30 of the 57 Incheon Subway stations. Incheon City has established collection centers, sub-centers, and a hub center in Bucheon Techno Valley to facilitate this service.
The delivery fee is significantly reduced. While the typical delivery fee for general delivery services is 2,500 won and 4,400 won for same-day delivery, the half-price service offers rates of 1,500 won and 2,500 won, respectively. Moreover, this service is not limited to Incheon and can also deliver packages to Bucheon and Seoul on the same day.
A five-week analysis of the subway delivery service revealed that a total of 8,550 packages were handled. While the initial daily volume was around 100 packages, it has surged to 851 packages as of November 2nd.
Prior to the launch of the subway delivery service, the city had contracted with 2,362 businesses for vehicle pickup services. However, with the new service, the number of contracted businesses has increased by 49% to 3,520. The total number of deliveries through vehicle pickup services this year stands at 255,986.
Recognizing the significant contribution of the subway-based half-price delivery service to the logistics competitiveness of small businesses, Incheon City plans to expand the collection centers to all 57 subway stations by the second half of next year. The city has allocated 5.3 billion won in the budget for the half-price delivery service next year.
"In addition to the subway delivery service, we are also seeing an increase in the number of businesses utilizing our vehicle pickup service," said an official from Incheon City. "We will strive to ensure the stable operation of this half-price delivery service so that small businesses can overcome the burden of delivery costs and enhance their competitiveness through diverse services and quality."
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