Logistics Legacy – Olympics - Freight Transport Association

14
The legacy
Opportunities abound
Collaboration, understanding and flexibility is
needed from all sides to ensure London delivers…
According to Transport for
London, 265,000 freight vehicles
visit the capital daily, delivering
goods and performing essential
services. These goods and services
underpin London’s £323bn or 21.5%
contribution to UK GDP. Without those
vehicles packages would not be
delivered, documents and medical
samples would expire unseen, shop
shelves would empty, streets would
accumulate waste.
The easily overlooked gift of
London 2012 is the window it opened
for agencies of all kinds – central and
local government, businesses, freight
operators and enforcement agencies
– to look afresh at one another’s role.
On all sides there was understanding,
sometimes for the first time, of
what these other contributors to
London’s success actually do – an
understanding that was driven from
a common sense of purpose.
There is an opportunity now for
the businesses, local authorities and
transport companies to build on this
with a new common purpose: to keep
London delivering, economically,
socially and environmentally.
What does such collaboration
look like? The ground work is already
there. Operators – major players in
London’s economy – have told us
they have countless contacts now
within Transport for London (TfL),
local councils, trade organisations
such as FTA and other organisations
where they can ask for help,
guidance and support. This needs to
be a multi-way process with councils
and TfL also asking the freight
industry for ideas to achieve their
goals.
London 2012 has challenged
many assumptions, such as that
night-time deliveries would disturb
residents. The case studies in
“The case studies
show that most
transport can be
done quietly”
Logistics Legacy or held by TfL
demonstrate that even waste
collections or construction transport
– the noisiest of freight movements
– can be done quietly and without
disrupting residents. In many cases
chatting pedestrians, buses or
emergency vehicles were shown to
make more noise during the night
than the trucks delivering goods.
Given the high levels of daytime
congestion in London and the
continuing need to improve air
quality, it makes social, political
and economic sense to encourage
as many night-time deliveries as
possible.
TfL has stated that it would
welcome the re-timing of deliveries
to cut the number of commercial
vehicles in the city during the day.
Parking and access is easier at night.
Journeys are quicker and therefore
use less fuel and cause less pollution.
London 2012 has shown that it can
be done, without compromising
residents’ priorities. All that remains
now is for all parties to work together
to identify those operations which
are suited to such a shift.
This is also an opportunity
to examine access and parking
arrangements for large vehicles.