Are Friends Electric?
The talk focused on the idea of the partial or full electrification of last mile deliveries, giving a critical overview of the main barriers to be overcome in the ‘greenification’ of urban logistics, and presented some of the results coming out of the Surflogh pilot initiatives that go some or all of the way to overcoming these barriers. The main conclusion however was that although some success has been realised in this area, there has also been a very clear limit as to what can be achieved, which the possible future extension of the Surflogh project will seek to examine further.
The paper was well received by a knowledgeable audience, with the ensuing discussion surrounding the influence of policy and some of the measures that could be used to improve the financial success of sustainable last mile consolidation ventures. This centred upon the need for a proactive city logistics policy that provides a workable framework so that the full costs of urban deliveries can be taken into account in the choice of mode to be used for last mile deliveries.