Government plans cleaner and greener transport strategy

A wave of electric cargo bikes, vans, quadricycles and micro vehicles could replace vans in UK cities as part of plans to transform last-mile deliveries, vastly reducing emissions and congestion around the country.

There are already 300,000 HGVs and over 4,000,000 vans on UK roads and with online sales continuing to increase, this is likely to increase further. But new green delivery vehicles could replace the millions of conventionally-fuelled vans which are currently a common sight in city centres.

The plans now being outlined as part of two government documents which offer a glimpse into how technology could transform transport, making it safer, more accessible and greener than ever.

Travel around the UK could dramatically change with the introduction of flying vehicles or widespread use of self-driving cars, all while data helps to delivers better journeys.

And the potential increased use of self-driving vehicles and shared travel could also allow the majority of parking spaces to be removed in city centres, opening areas up for redevelopment and potentially hundreds of thousands of new urban homes.

The ground-breaking developments are referenced in the government’s Last Mile and Future of mobility call for evidence documents.

The documents fire the starting gun on the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, which aims to make the UK the world leaders in the movement of goods, services and people.

The work is all part of the government’s Industrial Strategy and the work could help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, make travel safer, improve accessibility, and present enormous economic opportunities for the UK.