Transport for the North’s Transport Decarbonisation Strategy (Dec 2021) and Freight and Logistics Strategy (Nov 2022) set out the need to decarbonise freight and logistics, including last-mile goods delivery, which is currently predominantly carried out by light goods vehicles/vans. In Great Britain van traffic has doubled since the 1990s, driven by growth in online shopping, and the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated trends towards online shopping and home deliveries. The transition to electric van fleets is already underway for many freight operators, however alternative solutions for last-mile delivery have the potential to reduce other negative impacts of van traffic for local communities – road congestion, air pollution, noise, and road damage. Some of these solutions include the use of pick-up & drop-off points, and the use of (e)cargo bikes (alongside the practice of micro-consolidation of goods).

There is currently limited understanding of consumers’ attitudes to alternative green solutions for last mile delivery, particularly when this requires consumers to change their behaviour (such as with the use of pick-up & dropoff points). TfN used its online research community, called Northern Transport Voices, to explore consumer attitudes to greener last-mile delivery solutions. 

The consumer survey undertaken as part of this research found that over 40% of respondents have used parcel pick-up & drop-off points, mostly close to their home or workplace. Drop-off points in particular were found to be a popular method for returning unwanted items. Lower cost of delivery, or an incentive from the retailer, were the factors which would be most likely to encourage respondents to use pick-up/drop-off points, while convenience was also an important factor. Shift towards active travel (or public transport for longer distances) for consumers to get to pick-up/drop-off points needs to be encouraged, to ensure these sites offer a greener and more neighbourhood-friendly solution than front-door delivery by van.

The research also found that delivery by cargo bike is still relatively unfamiliar to consumers, particularly for delivering parcels; however, strong support for cargo bike deliveries was seen, across different types of places including urban and rural settings. Consumers were optimistic about cargo bikes’ potential to reduce air pollution and traffic noise in their local area.