It hits every year like clockwork — Black Friday, Click Frenzy, Christmas, EOFY sales. Your normal 120-stop run suddenly becomes 180, 200, or more. The van is packed to the roof, the manifest looks endless, and you know before you even start that you can't deliver everything today. This is when experienced drivers switch from "deliver everything" mode to "manage the overflow" mode. According to Australia Post peak delivery information, peak periods can see parcel volumes increase by 50–100% above normal levels. Here's how to restructure your run to survive it.
The Suburb Split Strategy
The most effective approach during peak is to fracture your delivery area into sections and rotate. If your normal run covers four suburbs — say Suburb A, B, C, and D — and you can't hit all four in a day at peak volume, split them into two groups.
Day 1: Deliver Suburb A and B completely. Everything. Don't leave anything behind in these two areas.
Day 2: Deliver Suburb C and D completely.
Day 3: Back to A and B, which now has two days' worth of freight — but you're hitting it fresh, fully loaded, with no backtracking.
This is better than trying to do a little bit of everywhere and failing everywhere. Customers in the "off day" suburbs get a one-day delay, but they get everything at once. Customers in the "on day" suburbs get same-day service. It's manageable, systematic, and your supervisor can communicate expected timelines.
Prioritisation Within Each Day
Time-critical first. Express, same-day, medical freight, and business deliveries always take priority regardless of geographic splitting. Medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare equipment can't wait — someone's health may depend on that delivery arriving today.
Cluster tightly. During peak, even a 2-minute detour between stops adds up. Stay in tight geographic clusters and resist the urge to chase outlier deliveries.
Communicate with dispatch. If you're splitting suburbs, tell your supervisor the plan. They can manage customer expectations and ensure relief drivers or overflow drivers cover the areas you're not hitting that day.
Surviving Peak Mentally
Peak is temporary. It feels overwhelming in the moment, but it lasts 4–6 weeks and then volume drops back to normal. Don't burn yourself out trying to deliver 200 stops every day — that's how injuries happen and that's how drivers quit.
Focus on what you can control: your loading, your route, your efficiency. Accept that some parcels will carry over. The drivers who survive peak are the ones who work smart, communicate clearly, and don't take the volume personally.