Repurposing autonomous vehicles for package delivery

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a central server, a transport request from an autonomous vehicle;
• identifying, by the central server, valid packages for pickup based on a route of the autonomous vehicle;
• identifying waypoints along a package route for each valid package;
• calculating a predicted delay at each identified waypoint;
• ranking pickup opportunities based on the predicted delays at the waypoints, wherein the pickup opportunities comprise potential package pickups at the waypoints;
• and
• selecting a package for pickup based on the ranked pickup opportunities.

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to:
• identify a package for delivery based on routing information associated with an autonomous vehicle;
• identify waypoints along a package route for each package in the set of packages;
• calculate a predicted delay at each identified waypoint;
• rank deliveries based on the predicted delays at the waypoints, wherein the deliveries comprise potential package deliveries at the waypoints;
• and
• select a package for delivery based on the ranked delivery opportunities.