Transport for London launches LoCITY project to cut urban emissions from road freight

Thu 28 January 2016 View all news

Transport for London 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% of London's goods are transported by road and that freight makes up 17% 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.

London's Transport Commissioner Mike Brown MVO, said: "Over the next five years LoCITY will begin improving London's air quality by encouraging the take up of low emission vehicles. We're working with vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure providers and the industry to make these vehicles a realistic choice for operators.

Together we can improve London's air quality, and by supporting the freight sector - which is essential for our city to function - we will have a real impact."

LoCITY will have three workstreams focusing on:

  • 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's aim through LoCITY is 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 engined 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.

Welcoming the LoCITY initiative the LowCVP MD Andy Eastlake said: “London is a major influence in helping set standards for transport innovation and I believe that the freight sector can follow the success we've seen in 'greening' UK bus fleets.

"The LowCVP is already partnering with TfL on the test processes and targets to ensure that LoCITY is closely linked-in with UK-wide support for low emission commercial vehicles.  Our work on the Low Emission Van Guide and HGV accreditation processes is already embedded into the LoCITY team's thinking and we look forward to working closely together.”

In December last year the LowCVP announced a new initiative to cut emissions from commercial vehicles. In collaboration with Transport for London, the LowCVP held a packed stakeholder workshop in London to progress the Partnership's commercial vehicle activity and to help coordinate the activities of a diverse range of organisations that are active in this space.

The group discussed the new CV accreditation scheme for after-market technologies, which is being managed by the LowCVP, and learned about the opportunities for operators and others to collaborate in a new, DfT-funded test programme to benchmark vehicles powered by natural gas/biomethane. For more information see LowCVP news story. 

Note: The LowCVP and the Clean Air Alliance have joined forces on an initiative which aims to bring the climate change and air quality communities closer together and to help ensure that UK vehicle and transport fuel policy is most effectively oriented towards tackling these twin threats. The initiative will be launched at a Parliamentary Reception which follows a related seminar on Tuesday March 1. More information here.

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