TfL launches LoCITY project to cut urban emissions from road freight

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new five-year industry-led programme to reduce the emissions of London's freight and fleet operators. The programme will work across the industry to increase the availability and uptake of low emission vans and lorries. It will bring together freight and fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers, fuel providers and the public sector. TfL says that 85 per cent of London's goods are transported by road and that freight makes up 17 per cent of London's road traffic.
February 1, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
1466 Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new five-year industry-led programme to reduce the emissions of London's freight and fleet operators.

The programme will work across the industry to increase the availability and uptake of low emission vans and lorries. It will bring together freight and fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers, fuel providers and the public sector. TfL says that 85 per cent of London's goods are transported by road and that freight makes up 17 per cent of London's road traffic.

The initiative also aims to create new environmental operating standards and contractual clauses for procurement bodies to easily adopt. It also aims to demonstrate, through research and real world trials, that using these cleaner vehicles will not negatively impact operations.

LoCITY will focus on three areas: Increasing the availability and affordability of low emission vans and lorries; Improving the alternative fuel infrastructure, such as electric charging points and the use of hydrogen fuel; Improving policies, procurement and land use planning to increase the use and viability of low emission vans and lorries.

TfL aims to achieve these objectives in time for the introduction of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in September 2020. The ULEZ will apply to the same area as the current congestion charge zone and vehicles failing to meet ULEZ standards, including Euro-VI for trucks, buses and coaches, and Euro-6 for diesel engine cars, vans and minibuses, will face a daily charge, varying with vehicle type, to enter the zone.

TfL says that LoCITY will comprise four working groups. Its first annual conference will be held on 25 May this year.
Air Quality & Weather Systems Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • London invests in bus priority schemes to help keep bus passengers moving
    January 26, 2016
    With London’s roads seeing an increase in congestion due to a construction boom and a significant growth in population, Transport for London is investing heavily in helping keep the roads moving through a range of means. Part of this programme is designed to help buses get through congested areas quicker and more reliably. A US$284 million investment in new bus priority schemes in the capital includes changes to road layouts and junctions and enabling small changes to routes so that buses can avoid traff
    Read More
  • Counting the environmental costs of ITS deployment
    October 29, 2015
    David Crawford looks at the latest thinking about calculating the benefits associated with the environmental side of ITS schemes. The penny is dropping that some environmental costs “are being shifted outside the traditional bounds of evaluation methods” for ITS-based road transport projects, according to researchers at the UK University of Leeds’ Institute for Transport Studies.
    Read More
  • Ramp metering delivers - again
    January 27, 2012
    Though still controversial, ramp metering, which has been around for nearly 50 years, continues to deliver substantial benefits, and generally for relatively small cost. Kansas City is a case in point. In March 2010, Kansas City Scout, a partnership between the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation to provide ITS for the greater Kansas City Area, activated the first ramp metering system in the region. The project is located on an 8.85km (5.5 mile) section of Interstate 435 from Metcalf Avenue to
    Read More
  • Norwegian study finds electric cars 'pose environmental threat'
    October 5, 2012
    According to a study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, electric cars might pollute much more than petrol or diesel-powered cars. Researchers found greenhouse gas emissions rose dramatically if coal was used to produce the electricity. Electric car factories also emitted more toxic waste than conventional car factories, claims their report in the Journal of Industrial Energy. However, in some cases electric cars still made sense, the researchers said.
    Read More

Highlighted Content