Technology

Yeah, I'm as much for Amazon burning down with Bezos locked inside as anyone else, but this one is actually reasonable.

You want to turn on your AC, close your fucking door, you damn maniac.

Wondering how much the AC could even do if the door is left open. But maybe the hassle is also having to turn it on again every time?

Couldn't they automate the door so it closes on its own?

I see plenty of Amazon vans driving around neighborhoods with the side door wide open…

Maybe they should have something like those magnetic self-closing mesh curtains that go in front of open patio doors? Obviously something more solid than mesh - like clear plastic sheets, but it would provide a significant conservation of the cool air while allowing the quick in & out access the drivers need. Similar curtains (more like hanging strips & without the magnetics) are routinely used in the food industry for walk-in refrigeration & freezer units.

I do this job, so if you left the door open you would get fired, but every DSP is different and some are more lax. Some vans don’t even have cameras in them.

A friend of mine delivers for Amazon now and hates it.

Can confirm, they expect so much of drivers. He is constantly told that he isn't fast enough doing over 150 packages every day.

The door should be motorized, idk if it is though. When they came out I saw a video on the truck from Doug Demuro and I think when it's put in park the door from the cab to the cargo area automatically opens to save like a second per stop. So the side door could definitely have like a button you press when you get out to shut it while you walk away.

Wouldn't matter if they're never in there anyway

Given how connected these cars are, I bet there's telemetry being collected on the state of that latch and how often the door is actually opened once the vehicle is stopped.

Another option is to put a weight in the driver's seat. But if vehicle is stopped, the door is open, AND there is weight in seat, they'll probably be able to tell. Plus, there are cameras pointed at the drivers.

One way is to have the vehicle turn on the AC remotely, BEFORE the driver enters the van. They have cameras on all sides and can check for that. Or through their phone and proximity sensing. This way, AC is off when nobody is inside, it conserves battery, and makes it still cool when driver steps inside.

That takes time and you get punished for how long you take.

Like listen people are pissing in bottles because they don't have time for a break, every other little thing is going to get ignored too

I can tell that you’ve never driven for Amazon.

It’s an even larger waste of energy to have to open and close that door hundreds of times a day.

I want to say it's not the feature that sounds insane, but what amazon requires the drivers to do.
I had a friend who applied to them and they gave him a description of out ~1000 deliveries needed a single shift.
Now that's what inhuman and not the auto ac off.

You didn't read the article.

Update automatically turns off the air conditioning in the van if the driver is not in the vehicle for more than 30 seconds.

This is not a bug

Who said it's a bug? They save money on fuel costs by turning off ac.

Yes, force the behaviour of closing the door while they're away from the truck

...while relaxing the inhuman quota expectations to actually afford them that time