Fuelcards.co.uk haulage news: Transport minister supports night-time deliveries

Transport Minister Paul Clark has explored the wide-reaching benefits of quiet night-time HGV deliveries, fuelcard holders may be interested to learn.

Speaking at the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA’s) Urban Logistics Conference, the minister claimed that running HGV deliveries at night could reduce congestion and pollution at peak hours and even improve the reliability of deliveries.

At present, HGV deliveries at night and over weekends are both limited so lorries increase traffic and carbon emissions at peak hours.

In addition to easing congestion, an increase in quiet night-time deliveries could be an alternative to major investments in infrastructure.

Natalie Chapman, the FTA’s Head of Policy for London, said: “Great improvements need not mean great compromise.  By establishing a solid best practice framework, night-time deliveries can achieve all the benefits associated with reducing congestion with none of the perceived drawbacks of making deliveries during off-peak hours."

The Department for Transport, the Noise Abatement Society and the FTA are backing an initiative called the Quiet Deliveries Demonstration Scheme (QDDs) which launched in January and will run until March 2011.

Each trial involves a local authority and retailer working closely to carry out quiet night-time deliveries using best practice procedure.

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