DHL Express, the unit of German transport and logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL Group, has opened a facility in New York's lower Manhattan financial district that will be served by using foot couriers. This is the company's first operation of its kind in the U.S.

The 1,200-square-foot facility, which resembles a sidewalk storefront, will be home to more than a dozen walking couriers who will canvass five ZIP codes throughout the financial district. Packages and documents will be brought to the facility via delivery van. At that point, they will be tendered to the foot couriers for delivery to their destinations. Customers will also be able to drop off shipments at the center, which will have a staffed customer service counter, DHL Express said.

Because it is often faster to navigate the financial district's narrow and congested streets by foot rather than vehicle, the use of the walking couriers should cut approximately one hour off the normal delivery times in the area, DHL Express said.

DHL Express already provides helicopter deliveries in Manhattan, with stops at the borough's west side and at Newark's Liberty International Airport. Through this network, urgent legal and financial documents can arrive at London's financial district by the next business day, the company said.

DHL Express has larger facilities in four of the five New York boroughs, the one exception being Staten Island. The unit, which is based in Bonn but with its U.S., Canada, Mexico and Americas headquarters in Plantation, Fla., serves the U.S. market through its international network. DHL Express ceased domestic U.S. operations in January 2009.