Department for Transport has launched a call for (closes Monday 10 September) seeking to better understand the scale of opportunity as well as some of the current barriers to delivering goods more sustainably.
This forms part of the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, an initiative to make the UK a world leader in the movement of goods, services and people. A separate ‘Future of Mobility’ consultation has also been launched.
“The UK has a long and proud history of leading the world in transport innovation and our Future of Mobility Grand Challenge is designed to ensure this continues,” said Transport Minister, Jesse Norman.
The Last Mile call for evidence document says there are currently 300,000 heavy goods vehicles and over four million vans on UK roads, with further increases likely as online sales continue to rise. However it recognises that there are significant potential opportunities to reduce emissions and congestion and still meet demand by replacing conventionally fuelled vans with new green delivery vehicles.
The document suggests e-cargo bikes can reduce the need for fleets of delivery vans to drive into urban centres from out of town depots. They have less capacity than conventional forms of delivery but can make many deliveries in a day if supported by a local hub.
Evidence is sought on how sustainable solutions could provide a better service than light commercial vehicles, barriers to their use, the scale of potential environmental benefits, and what incentives might encourage a large scale shift to clean last mile deliveries.
Meanwhile the Future of Mobility consultation will gather views on some of the emerging trends that are expected to shape urban mobility in the coming decades, from cleaner transport to automation and shared mobility. Responses are welcomed that consider the approach Government should take to help cities harness the opportunities and address any challenges presented by these trends.
Launch of the two consultations precedes a full Future of Urban Mobility Strategy which is due to be published by the Government by the end of the year.
Commenting on the calls for evidence, Giles Perkins, Technical Director for Future Mobility, WSP said: “Technological changes are transforming the possibilities for urban and rural mobility, and we welcome the opportunity to actively contribute to this revolution and help create liveable places of the future.”
Stephen Joseph, Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport said: “This challenge is very welcome, but there’s a risk of too big a focus on driverless cars, which are some way off and have big potential downsides. The future of mobility should really be about what kind of places we want to live in – cleaner, greener and less car dominated places – rather than congested streets full of autonomous cars.”
The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 10 September 2018
Photo: Aberdeenshire Council
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