Photograph: Tony Margiocchi/Barcroft Images
Vans, up by 71% since 1996, are the fastest growing vehicle type in UK. They are nearly all diesel-powered and share the same nitrogen dioxide exhaust problems as diesel cars.
In 2015, 73% of UK adults did Christmas shopping online and 88% of these used home deliveries, causing concerns about traffic pollution.
However most of the increase in vans pre-dates internet shopping. Van growth since 2006 was 23%, much less than the decade before. In 2008 most vans were used to transport equipment, perhaps reflecting changes in self-employment.
Just in time deliveries for industry, retail and offices mean inefficiencies in storage have been swapped for inefficient transport on our roads. City centres are criss-crossed by partially loaded vans, with competing operators duplicating journeys. In London 39% of vans are less than one quarter full. Freight consolidation centres are one possible answer. These collect deliveries for an area in a single location and the last miles are done with fully-loaded, and in some cases electric, vehicles. So far, these centres have not proved economic, since deliveries do not bear the full cost of their environmental impact.
Deliveries often start outside the city and freight operators view the city as a problem to be negotiated. This leaves them disconnected from the area that they work in. Transport planners have a good perspective on how people travel. Bus, train, tram and metro networks are organised to move people, but free-market solutions are assumed to be good enough for freight. The consequences can be seen on our streets and in the air that we breathe.
