The most ceremonial transport event in the UK

Institute of Couriers chairman Carl Lomas paid five shillings to enter Guildhall yard, enacting the obligation placed on carters, who by statute had to be liverymen, Carl chose the classic Honda CX500 courier bike as his cart for the ceremony of Carmen. The courier bike was cart branded with the letter ‘X’ for 2015, the X mark displaying the right to ply for trade hire in the City.  

The ceremony of cartmarking saw the classic courier bike join forty five commercial vehicles branded with the 2015 year licence letter X, this ancient ceremony then allows those vehicles branded to ply for trade in the city of London in the old school of the guilds dating back five hundred years. Branding the vehicles this year was Sherriff of the City of London, Fiona Adler and the ceremony took place in the pageantry of Guildhall Yard with a run of Institute of Couriers fellows on hand to celebrate the event. Justin Moore FIoC, director at CitySprint, ‘The CX was an iconic machine of the eighties working courier, shaft drive reliability with water cooling and frame strength to carry a great deal of pannier luggage.’
The July event is without doubt the most ceremonial transport event of the year, IOC president Viscount, Lord Falkland and Carl Lomas were there to talk shop about the future of the industry, the e-retail revolution of internet shopping, home deliver has placed more challenges on the industry than ever before. Skills gaps, driver shortages are key, green solutions for the City centre. Universities from London, Derby and Manchester were on hand to talk qualifications alongside training providers and colleges with the BIS and the LEPs. TfL in strength, Helen Smith from Transport for Greater Manchester made the trip south with Prof Tony Hines from Manchester Met University. Compliance discussion & diesel derivatives were on the agenda, LEP representation from the golden triangle and Heathrow.

As retail shifts from High street to home delivery todays courier has never been so busy, The Institute of Couriers is working towards a host of new qualifications from apprenticeship trailblazers to undergraduate degrees and qualifications with government in the form of the new trailblazer for BIS. LEPs from the Golden triangle were at the centre of discussions on strategy for the future.

Full report in the members area.