Five new schemes that will boost uptake of cycle freight, help businesses to consolidate deliveries and reduce the number of waste vehicles on the roads are to get off the ground with the help of Transport for London (TfL) funding.
A total of £170,000 from TfL’s Healthy Streets Fund for Business will be matched by the business groups themselves, and will help support the Mayor’s goal to cut traffic in central London.
Schemes offered part of the £170,000 funding include:
- A Bermondsey-based project to enable more cycling at the Blue Marketplace by providing cargo bikes, storage spaces and other facilities to allow people to cycle to work. This will also allow traders to move more goods by bike. The scheme marks the first time the Healthy Streets Fund for Business has gone to business groups to enable employees to walk and cycle to work.
- A shared cargo bike scheme in Streatham that will enable small- and medium-sized independent businesses to replace cars and vans with cycle freight. The bike will be available to businesses in the area to use free of charge by using a booking app.
- A new freight hub in Hammersmith that will enable businesses to receive and sort more deliveries at the single location. This will reduce the number of freight vehicles needed to service the area, particularly at peak times.
- Investment will help the historic Petticoat Lane Market in Aldgate become greener and more efficient. Waste generated by the market will be taken to new compactor machines at a single collection point, reducing the number of waste freight movements and keeping the local area clean and tidy
- Investment in the Hatton Garden jewellery area will reduce the number of freight vehicle movements by installing a waste consolidation centre and appointing a preferred supplier for collection.
TfL will work closely with all successful applicants and share lessons learned with businesses across the capital.
A previous round of funding in September last year provided support for six business groups across London, including a project to encourage businesses in the Team London Bridge area to switch to cycle freight.
