An Underground Lunch Delivery Train Comes to the Atlanta Suburbs
The logistics startup Pipedream Labs plans to disrupt home delivery by running small autonomous vehicles through a network of subterranean tubes.
Pipedream’s autonomous delivery robots will whoosh through underground tunnels in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, starting December 2023.
Thomas Godden/Pipedream
Underground tubes are already the transportation method of choice for essentials like water, sewage, and Wi-Fi. This week, one Georgia city will start sending sandwiches through the pipes, too.
Peachtree Corners, northeast of Atlanta, is the first test case for an underground last-mile delivery mode, developed by the logistics startup Pipedream Labs. Founded in 2021, the company seeks to solve the problems that plague the terrestrial delivery space: the emissions and congestion from vehicle traffic, the jockeying for curb space, and the costs. About 40% of supply chain logistics expenses are associated with last-mile trips.