Local since 2009. Driven by the 518.
518 Courier started with one van, one phone line and a promise: pick up when you call, and get it there on time. Sixteen years later, that's still the whole pitch.
We built the courier service we wished existed.
In 2009, our founder James was running a small print shop in downtown Albany. Every other day, a national courier would lose a package, miss a window, or hand him off to a different rep in a different state.
So he bought a used cargo van, printed flyers for every law firm and clinic on Western Avenue, and started picking up the phone himself. The phone still gets answered the same way — fast, by a person, who knows your name.
Today 518 Courier runs a fleet of 28 vehicles across the Capital Region, but the rules haven't changed: pick up when you call, get it there on time, treat every package like it's the only one.
Three rules we'll never break.
On time, every time
We measure ourselves on minutes, not days. Every late delivery is a debrief.
Local people
Every driver and dispatcher lives in the 518. We know the back roads.
Service like it's 1995
You'll always reach a human. No bots, no tickets, no waiting on hold.
16 years on the road, step by step.
- 2009
James drives the first 518 Courier route in a single cargo van.
- 2013
Expanded into Schenectady & Troy with a 5-vehicle fleet.
- 2016
Launched dedicated medical & lab specimen division.
- 2020
Built 24/7 dispatch — first in the region.
- 2023
Crossed 1 million successful deliveries.
- 2025
Full electric-van pilot program kicks off in Albany.
Meet the people behind 518 Courier.
James Calloway
Drove the first route himself in 2009. Still answers the dispatch line on Sundays.
Maria Sanchez
15 years in logistics. Builds the routes that keep the Capital Region moving.
Devon Brooks
Former EMT. Leads the HIPAA-compliant specimen division.