Amazon $AMZN invested another $1.9 billion in its delivery network yesterday.

Over the eight-year existence of the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program, it has now invested a total of $21.7 billion.

The DSP program is based on the fact that last-mile delivery is not handled directly by $AMZN employees. Instead, thousands of independent small businesses hire their own drivers. Amazon pays them per delivery, and the new investment is intended to help partners attract and retain drivers. The average hourly wage is expected to rise by about $1 to nearly $24. Over the past three years, that represents a 16% increase, according to the company.

The second aspect of this investment is technology. The Wellspring mapping system has identified 202 million parking spots and mapped 2.8 million building entrances since 2024. By the end of 2027, more than 20,000 smart delivery glasses with computer vision are expected to be in operation to help couriers. Amazon has invested more than $543 million in safety since 2022. The number of serious accidents it aims to reduce fell by more than 23% last year.