Successful urban freight study tour by FREVUE and CIVITAS CAPITAL

Day 1

The CIVITAS CAPITAL / FREVUE study tour was kicked off with presentations by Ian Wainwright (Head of Freight and Fleet Programmes) and Tim Ward (Freight and Fleet Communications and Engagement Manager) from Polis' member Transport for London on TfL’s work on freight. Beyond providing a highly interesting overview of London’s work in this area, TfL also kindly hosted the meeting.

FREVUE was introduced by Tanja Dalle-Muenchmeyer, coordinator of the project and by Jos Streng (City of Rotterdam, Polis' Presidency) and Peter Harris (UPS) who respectively presented aspects of the FREVUE demonstrations in Rotterdam and London.

The theme of consolidation logistics was addressed in more detail in an interesting discussion between the managers of several consolidation centres located either in London or in Southampton, providing an overview of the key characteristics of the different centres. This discussion was complemented by a seminar during which alternative ideas for urban logistics were presented.

The first day of the study tour ended with a reception around the theme of air quality, organised by Cross River Partnership (FREVUE coordinator) at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre in London.

Day 2

The second day of the study tour was kicked off with the visit of Gnewt Cargo consolidation centre, located just on the border of the congestion charge zone. A large fleet of 100+ electric vans and cargo bicycles operates from this consolidation centre and deliver over 2.6 million items every year in London. Gnewt Cargo is an inspiring example of successful privately sector led initiatives combining both the concept of consolidation as well as electric freight vehicles.

Back at the TfL offices, the city and the region of Copenhagen (FREVUE Phase 2 city) gave a presentation on the current achievement of Copenhagen in terms of urban freight and on their expectation regarding their participation to the FREVUE Phase 2 Cities programme. The study tour finally ended with a presentation of the preliminary results of FREVUE by two of the project’s research partners Imperial College London and TNO.

More information

• FREVUE website: http://frevue.eu/
• CIVITAS website: www.civitas.eu
• Contact: TMourey@polisnetwork.eu