West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Mayor Richard Parker has backed a trial of electric parcel delivery vehicles at the University of Warwick.
Supported by funding from the West Midlands Innovation Programme, the University of Warwick’s “mini city” campus is being used to test a small fleet of low-speed electric delivery vehicles to demonstrate how they can cut congestion on UK roads and improve air quality.
The vehicles are being used by the University’s delivery, waste and recycling, and maintenance teams. Funding from the West Midlands Innovation Programme allowed the research team to adapt a cargo e-bike with throttle control based on models successfully in use in the Netherlands ahead of being tested on the campus.
The researchers from the University are ultimately aiming to work with the Department for Transport (DfT) to explore how these vehicles could be made legal for use on UK roads and cycle lanes, to expand the reach of this technology.
Mark Urbanowski, principal engineer for micromobility at WMG at the University of Warwick, said that future widespread use of these vehicles presented “real potential” to lower emissions, improve air quality and reduce congestion in local communities. The WMCA added that the West Midlands’ strong automotive manufacturing history makes the region an ideal location for rolling out these delivery vehicles, adding that tens of thousands could be designed, engineered and built across the UK.
However, Urbanowski noted that there are still a number of barriers to be overcome before the use of the tech is widespread, stating: “It’s going to take a shift in behaviour and more regulatory and legislative work to get these low-speed vehicles into use.”
WMCA Mayor Richard Parker also expressed his support for the trial and said that online shopping is making the delivery sector increasingly important in the region’s economy.
He added: “I’m funding the Last Mile Logistics Project to find new ways of keeping goods moving while cutting congestion and improving air quality. The government is backing my plan to invest in top talent and tech so we can reduce our carbon emissions and get everyone to net zero while creating jobs.”
The news comes shortly after another region made the switch to electric for some of its utility vehicles. Last week, the London Borough of Haringey announced that it had invested in new all-electric street sweepers for the borough, in an effort to improve local air quality.
