Grahame Neagus, Head of LCV, Renault Trucks UK and Ireland: With urban congestion and poor air quality stifling our towns and cities, we take a look at the role the transport and logistics industry could play to be part of the solution.
Renault Trucks UK and Ireland.
Getting stuck in nose-to-tail traffic is bad enough, but when you consider that congestion costs the UK economy £25bn every year, as well as contributing to a large proportion of urban air pollution, it’s clear we all have a problem.
Although the fastest growing segment of road traffic is vans and LGVs, this rise is fuelled by businesses striving to meet the demands of online shoppers and next day deliveries. Yet 86% of those vehicles are running at less than three-quarters capacity, and 20% are less than a quarter full. That’s a lot of wasted space and fresh air being moved around our towns and cities, often by an array of logistics providers all visiting the same roads in the same towns on the same day.
As an industry, we need to look further at Freight Consolidation in order to maximise utilisation, reduce emissions and improve operating costs whilst maintaining customer service levels.
Transport and logistics operators may profit from developing research projects along the supply chain or sharing resources with competitors.
Known as ‘co-opetition’, opportunities include sharing warehousing, transport networks or last mile delivery solutions in urban consolidation centres. A great example of this is the London Boroughs Consolidation Centre, a partnership between a group of London councils which have combined deliveries to council-owned sites to help reduce emissions and congestion.
Collaboration is at the heart of this success, and, as the Independent Traffic Commission report 2016 states, it ‘depends on the willingness of a wide range of parties to work together and make compromises for the common good’.
Should we stop at traditional cargo? At the same time as we’re looking to reduce congestion through freight consolidation, our bus services are under severe strain, hit by cut backs and route reductions, leaving many of our most vulnerable without access to mobility.
This reminded me of an old idea. Back in 1967, in the aftermath of major cuts to the rural rail services across the UK, someone in the Royal Mail had the idea to use post vehicles that were criss-crossing remote areas to provide a solution to the public transport problem: picking up passengers, which helped to cover some of the costs involved in mail collection and delivery at the same time. With the Royal Mail idea no longer in service, could the transport and logistics industry work in a similar way with local communities?
The vehicles to deliver this kind of innovative transport solution are already here: the Renault Trucks Master Adventurer offers all the practicality of a van with space and payload capabilities with the safe and roomy travel for up to six passengers.
Additionally, Renault Trucks’ range of crew cab options, minibuses and panel vans provide solutions for every application, while its OptiLogistics specs allow for full customisation for maximum storage in the cargo area. And of course, all are now available with the Renault Trucks Master Z.E .fully electric driveline.
A social cargo provider: is this a potential vision for the future that could help improve the image of our growing logistics sector, too? With our towns and cities nearing gridlock and an air pollution crisis already here, reducing congestion and working collaboratively is an issue that the whole of society must engage with, from businesses and the public sector to individuals and families. We’re in this together.
RENAULT TRUCKS
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