2025 Full house for biggest turnout ever for Carmen apprentice transport challenge. Transport from stained glass of the Carmen Church of All Hallows in the City of London to real world contingency for next generation logistics apprentices beyond the Carmen livery. Focusing on the best transport route, London Bridge proved popular, with a strong shift to Uber boat for above Thames river-crossing goal. Three teams scored under two hours, six transport apprentices have been rewarded with free guest invites to the end of February House of Lords transport evening on Feb 27th. We deliver you some extracts of the apprentice candidates' feedback on the challenge of London transport routes, contingency change and the variation of transport modes. Our headline photo is the transport apprentices at the start table, then we deliver you the transport route detail.
Edge of the chair road transport logistics, The Carmen transport livery Apprenticeship Challenge was held at the end of Jan 2025, doors open beyond the livery guested transport logistics degree students from the University of West London. The event tested our next generation and they did not disappoint, as almost thirty entrants competed for best-of-best London route directions. Start point via Tower Tube was All Hallows church, oldest church in the City of London and the church which is home to the transport carmen stained glass window.
Challenge at the table: apprentices delivered road contingency variations moments before they began in a real world transport simulation. Heads down in the control room to tweak and re-work the challenge routes.
For the degree students there was added contingency and dynamic change to write up the results at degree level for the Carmen Apprentice Challenge transport managers.
Top times were achieved by the degree level apprentices, but the record still stands as the next generation Express managers crossed London by road, tube, DLR, river and Santander bike. The last minute contingencies to deal with were real world transport simulations, as bridges Waterloo, Blackfriars & Southwark were closed to the candidates access.
A special twist of road transport prediction times
In a special twist, the degree level transport apprentices had to predict travel time to distance, the apprentices were then measured on prediction time to actual for merit marks. Further merit marks were awarded for incidents, as one team helped in a delivery where the courier had dropped parcels in the Docklands.
The Carmen transport challenge has become well proven. The extension of road prediction times and contingency interruptions of bridge access stretched the degree students in their Carmen Challenge.
Instructions and details of preparation were given out two weeks prior for University of West London express manager degree students to allow them to research and plan their route.
The Carmen Challenge was to achieve goals; whilst rules and the ethos of the challenge set are to build an ethos of excellence in best practice.
Required Goals: (in any order)
- Travel both under and over the Thames.
- Stand below Canada Tower, Canary Wharf.
- Stand under the arch at Hyde Park Corner.
- Stand in front of a livery hall that is not the home of the Carmen
- Travel not less than one stop on a bus, a tube & the DLR
The transport challenge entrants came from different year groups of the University of West London degree Hons degree apprenticeship, adding the benefit for the students from different brands and year streams to get to know one another and share first-hand logistics experiences, but the more serious aim was to be the fastest to complete the challenge!
Base for the Carmen livery challenge has remained the Church of All Hallows by the Tower, oldest church in the City of London and home to the Carmen livery stained glass windows of the Square Mile.
Students very quickly settled into many conversations of – ‘which way are you going? how have you planned it? contingency impacts delivered on the day added questions, are there any road closures? – the communication was fast and furious with online road checks to TfL. The challenge balance to reality got more focused when predicted timescales were on the agenda.
Everything planned, set and sorted, then news of contingencies, the students were advised three London bridges were closed and no longer available to them, Waterloo, Southwark and Blackfriars.
Pre-planned routes by the students were then altered by the dynamic contingencies. Fast thinking, real time issues that logistics businesses face daily.
The majority of teams chose West as their starting direction, while four teams made for DLR and a start East as they were the first to step across the threshold of the City's Griffin markers. Other vision was a southbound start and Fishmongers proved popular as a livery hall visit with London Bridge as the over-Thames delivery.
Dr Tracey Worth UWL explains, ‘We ensured that all students had to rethink, make decisions and be under time pressure, before setting off on their timed challenge. Leaving All Hallows by the Tower in staged intervals, checked at the door that they were equipped for the task, some students ran off at a pace, some walked, and some changed their minds and went in two directions. Having to achieve evidence of their chosen route (phone photos) they would encounter issues, challenges and difficulties along the way before returning to All Hallows by the Tower.
Merit points were on offer and if alternative transport was achieved and photo evidence of express delivery vehicles were produced the ranking for the students could change. The first students back were not the fastest as due to the staged exit that time would only become evident when all returned. As the pairings returned the conversations related to the problems they had encountered: what had been the best part of the journey? what were the hold ups? the silly mistakes and how long did you wait for the bus?
The weather was dry and very few issues on the public transport, but road closures were an issue; this related well to the express delivery sector and was first-hand experience of the effects when it happens. The students were then de-briefed on their return. They had to present their results and explain the route, confirm all rules and goals had been met (showing evidence), explain the time variation between planned and actual and explain and defend their choice of actions throughout the challenge.
Adding degree level input for transport
The results were in on the day, based on the quickest time only the winners were Simon Caffry (FedEx) and Triston Blake (EVRi). Though this was the primary challenge goal, the overall participation was based on the case study of ‘a customer complaint that required a report of what happened’. All students reviewed their challenge and engaged well whilst defending their choices and decisions. However, customers may not only want ‘just on time’, and it would be fair to say that the pairing that had the least ‘variation of their predicted time’ was Mike Holmes (FedEx) and Barry Close (Whistl), this would have met the customer needs exactly, as the time they gave to delivery was the actual time taken. Finally, highly recommended for adding quality to the challenge was Robert Rigwell (FedEx), Chris Stockton (FedEx) and Adam Bamford (Whistl) for their variation of mode travel, on a boat on the Thames and the highest number of express delivery vehicles seen on route; along with Ryan McVey (FedEx) and Victoria James (EVRi) for taking time out to stop and assist a delivery driver who had dropped their package on the kerb.
All next generation apprentices in transport were unanimous in their thanks to the Carmen Livery
‘The Apprenticeship Challenge was a success by everyone’s account, it contributed to team building, networking, shared experiences. The challenge based on the concept of a four-stage delivery, pick up drop off and, delivery on time; whilst incorporating the importance of preparation, understanding the customer requirements and implementing the plan. The students all went away with a greater appreciation for travelling in the City of London.’
Some extracts below of the Exceptional feedback for the Carmen Livery challenge.
‘I found the apprenticeship challenge an enjoyable and practical way to engage with the transport infrastructure in London that was pertinent to my role in express delivery. Whilst the challenge itself was aimed at travelling from A to B completing a number of objectives along the way it connected with our classroom learnings in that we had to plan, adopt contingencies, and present an academic report at the end summarising the outcome of the activity. Aside from the challenge itself I found the networking element with the other cohort a particular highlight as it encouraged relationships outside of the normal student groups. I cann’t emphasise enough the value and variety that these activities can add to the overall student experience.’
‘I wanted to share some feedback regarding The Carmen Challenge. Overall, the event was extremely well organised, from the clear joining instructions to the detailed task instructions provided. It was evident that a lot of thought and effort had gone into making the experience seamless for all participants. I was paired with a student from the Year 2 group, and we spent the week planning our route. Though there were a few changes on the day, we adapted well. Travelling around the capital was not only a great opportunity to engage in the challenge but also to connect with someone from a different company within the sector. We had meaningful discussions about the challenges we both faced at university, including how we balance homework and university life. All in all, it was a fun, educational, and rewarding experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Well done the Carmen challenge.’
‘The Carmen Apprentice Challenge in Central London was an engaging and valuable experience. I found that collaborating with the other apprentice cohort fostered teamwork and enhanced our problem-solving skills in a practical setting. Additionally, despite having lived in London for 20 years, I gained new insights into the city, which enriched my understanding and appreciation of its dynamics. Overall, the challenge was both enjoyable and educational, offering a unique opportunity for experiential learning.’
‘I enjoyed the challenge of pre-planning the route and was surprised by the number of options available to be able complete the task. On the day, navigating my own way to All Hallows served as a confidence boost and put me in the right mindset of attempting the challenge. Contingency impact, with the last-minute change of not being able to travel Westminster Bridge we had to deviate from the original route which I felt confident in achieving but made me completely unaware of how this would impact on the timing, given that I wasn't out to win I felt fine about this. Exploring London by its many means of transport was a real eye opener for me, and the confidence it has given me will be taken forward in my future life, as I found it much less daunting than I expected. We chose to use bikes rather than walking which was a great method. I also learnt what the DLR was having never travelled that side of London before so another useful transport method for me to consider in the future.’
Transport apprentices review contingency impacts on their Carmen challenge routes
Top route photo - First apprentices reaching Canary wharf E14
Apprentice take to two wheels for Carmen Challenge
