LoCITY chair Carl Lomas introduced a full screen of guests from local council to express parcel, refuse, food final mile, light and heavy vehicle operators. It was a London focus and timely marked two weeks to ULEZ extension. Lomas spoke LoCITY group background of infrastructure, the group recognising depot charging challenge variation to home charging. A group with familiarity with alternative fuels, vehicles and challenges, a group with the ear of TfL to deliver operator issues. Lomas opened with a brisk run of interactive introductions of the operator mix and warmly welcomed TfL top brass Alex Williams to introduce the keynotes with a strategic overview of the arrival of the ULEZ extension in two weeks' time.
Alex Williams – ULEZ expansion live in two weeks, 25th Oct - 18 times size increase, 780 thousand resident vehicles, cameras in boundary and cameras in the zone. We have had three scrappage funds, they have been popular, the van stopped at the five thousand mark. 9.8 million people have checked the vehicle compliance on-line. For tracking we will be issuing a statement at start, month one and month six. At launch in 2017 vehicles not compliant have halved. By the time we go live there has already been a shift, we hope for many more compliant vehicles as extension begins. There has been an impressive transition to cleaner vehicles. Focused on health, we believe over 90% of roads will be compliant for NOx with ULEZ extension and the cleaner bus and taxis.
Stuart Dayman TfL, ops development officer, I look after road charging. Talking on the extended boundary. Circa 350 cameras on the boundary, also 650 cameras inside the zone. A zone 18 times larger. Up to north and south circular, but not including; you can drive around the circular without compliance. The signs are up and covered with red stickers, the stickers will be removed on the 25th. There are also blue signs saying ULEZ half mile ahead. For journey inside the zone there are also repeater signs. Approx a thousand cameras for ULEZ expansion. Lots of communications, almost a million letters sent out. DVLA have been mailing non-compliant vehicle owners. There are giant signs in the tubes.
If you have a non-compliant car in the zone and it does not move, does not pass a camera it will not be charged.
Operator concerns - News that clean vehicle discount will be abolished 2025. Questions on the withdrawl ‘it Is not encouraging.’ Discussion followed is it about congestion or clean air. Will this help clean air in most central areas.
Nick Bithell Knights of Old and chair of heavy vehicle LoCITY group, my question in the lens of driver shortage, have you had better recruitment for drivers of electric?’
Mike Stringer Renault answered the question, drivers are loving the EV vehicles. Mike went on to talk Renault trucks that are electric and available. Payload and range at the heart of the keynote. Ever-increasing expectations from customers. ‘The direction is clear, but the path is not.’ Mike expanded on picking the right application, balanced by van and truck. Electric registration last month was largest ever. First electric trucks entering service are Warburtons, they have trucks in Enfield working in London. Many ask, ‘can an EV truck do the job?’ Diesel is very flexible, but emissions are poor. So payload is always the key question, A typical EV refuse vehicle will have a payload of 11t. Range reality, 16t box demonstrator with 200 to 250km range. Mike introduced recognition of the kW hours metric for range. Mike spoke variation of battery number to match range need to specific application. Mike stated, ‘Renault trucks battery performance promise, for a 265kWh battery, Renault promise 178 kWh at the end of ten years or 300 MWh. Think tailored truck.
Talking Cargo Cycles - Ben Man TfL assistant transport strategy, keynote on TfL Cargo Bike Strategy – Cargo bikes can be a viable alternative to vans and now feature on the TfL web. When considering van, think cargo bike. They are a clean freight alternative to cars and vans. Their use is growing, LoCITY has had a variety of keynotes from cargo cycle operators. Absolutely spoke recently, WCI eco-hub dedicated to cargo cycles, CitySprint spoke cargo cycle for final mile delivery and worked with City of London corporation on storage.
