‘An electric centric audience’ - Full house, standing room only, Southwark Bridge Road, tech folk alongside operators and the TfL team to talk clean air solutions for Van in London.
Carl Lomas opened with clarity on the exploding numbers of home deliveries that were driving white vans into London. TfL Glen Davies had detailed 59% of white vans were in private registration. It is a challenge to communicate to these drivers. Sarah Wixey explained the present research for LoCity on various tech issues between fuels from hydrogen to gas, light and heavy, mixed fuel vehicles and electric. Lomas outlined the most eco-friendly cargo machine, cargo bikes, electric, assist and pedal. Venn Chesterton TTR set working tables to talk around the issues of what is a van, size, weight, purpose and job. How should it be defined to the wider commercial user. Operators asked for strong network time, Lomas extended the timescales to see tech folk talk to operators and exchanged best practice.
IOC were on the M25 ring north of London to take a look at Top Flight, they have a consolidation option for clients to Central London postcodes and ring all the bells for TfL with Carbon Neutral and Crossrail compliance.
Sarah Wixey, project manager freight & fleet programmes says congratulations to both Carl and Nigel. Carl Lomas from the Institute of Couriers has been selected as the Chair of the van working group and Nigel Base from SMMT will be the Vice-Chair – There will be a conference on May 25th in London and the first van group sector meeting needs to be in your diary for June 15th.
A busy forum, opened by TfL boss Mike Brown, well-attended with a big slant to politics, 50 days to the new mayor, blue-sky thinking. Carl Lomas IOC spoke of exploding e-retail home delivery numbers, ‘half of retail, home delivered by 2020’ setting the question to Ian Wainwright, ‘is it sustainable and are we ready?’
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