Duplicate Street Names and Delivery Confusion

Many towns and cities contain several streets with the same or similar names. Names such as "Main Street", "Station Road" or "Park Avenue" are common in many countries, and some names repeat even inside one city. A courier or routing system that sees only the street and number may pick the wrong one.

How it happens

• A street name is reused in different districts.
• Similar names differ by one word, such as "North" and "South".
• The same road is known by two names, one official and one local.
• A street continues across districts with changing numbering.
• A postcode or district is missing or mistyped.

What goes wrong

The parcel may be delivered to a stranger, or the courier may reach the wrong area and call for help. In a worse case the system marks the address as valid because it matches somewhere, so nobody notices until the parcel fails. Costs build up as in the hidden cost of address errors.

How to remove the ambiguity

1. Always give the district or neighbourhood.
2. Include the full postcode if the country uses one.
3. Add the city, even if it seems obvious.
4. Name a landmark that is local to your street; see landmark-based directions.
5. Share an exact location. A map point is the same for everyone.

A map point as a tie-breaker

Coordinates are unique. If an order includes a location chosen on a map, a driver can compare it with the written address and notice any mismatch. A UPCS code is generated from coordinates, so two places with the same street name give different codes. It is a complement to the address, not a replacement or an official postcode. See pin-drop delivery locations at checkout.

For shops

Require district or city fields and show the entered address back to the buyer. Highlight cases where the entered street exists in more than one place within the selected city, if your system can tell. See checkout address form best practices.

Related

Ambiguity also arises in countries that use different address orders; see international parcel addresses. A broader view of causes is in why deliveries fail.