by Walther Ploos van Amstel
There is an increasing use of diesel vans to cater to the e-commerce boom. The UK government has announced £2 million to support the uptake of e-cargo bikes, driving UK companies towards a greener future. Department for Transport (DfT) officials made the announcement as part of the international Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in Birmingham.
VDL Steelweld, TNO Automotive and e-groceries prvider Picnic will jointly develop a new electrical last-mile vehicle. The project is called DUELL: Development of an Urban E-truck for Last-mile Logistics. In 2020 the vehicle must go into production.
It is an inspiring dream image of the future, but also a vision that is slowly turning into reality. The use of human-powered vehicles in urban distribution is increasing, but how should we adapt the city to accommodate these newcomers?
To increase the benefits of a UCC in city logistics, the delivery to the final customers from the UCC can be done using light electric freight vehicles. These LEFV provide numerous operational benefits due to their smaller size while being more sustainable than regular light commercial vans.
The European Commission has promoted actions and policies with the aim of reducing the negative impacts on traffic and environment caused by city logistics. One increasingly popular measure is the use of cargo bikes in city logistics due to their improved energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower traffic disturbance.
A trial of a fully autonomous electric-powered vehicle (Cargopod) conducting last-mile deliveries for Ocado in Greenwich (UK) ended this month. The vehicle has delivered groceries to more than 100 customers so far. Read more at Freight in the City.
The International Cargo Bike Festival 2017 Magazine is available online presenting relevant case studies on the use of cargo bikes in urban freight; Urban Arrow, LEVV-LOGIC project, DHL and more.
In cities everywhere, people on bikes are clamoring for more space on the roads. Towns in the Netherlands have gone further than almost anywhere else in securing that space. But, the past month has shown that even the Dutch might be struggling to keep up with the demand for bike lanes. Citylab reports about it.
The number of light commercial vehicles in cities is growing, which puts increasing pressure on cities in terms of pollution, congestion, accessibility and loss of public space. One of the opportunities for improvement may be found in the use of light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs), including cargo bikes.
Lots of attention has been given in recent years to the “massive” increase in delivery traffic in cities and residential districts. Web stores and the vans that deliver their parcels often get the blame for that. My neighbors wonder if it really can’t all just fit into one delivery van. They see PostNL, DHL, Albert …