Quiet deliveries to reduce road congestion

1 May 2014 11:24 AM

New guidance has been published to help freight operators make more out-of-hours deliveries. 

New guidance published by the government could help reduce traffic jams by enabling freight operators to make more out-of-hours deliveries, Transport Minister Stephen Hammond has announced.

‘Quiet deliveries’, which has been published on GOV.UK, was developed following successful trials held by local councils before and during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Stephen Hammond said:

The London 2012 Games were extremely successful and proved that with the right planning, we could reduce the number of delivery vehicles on the road at key times when roads are likely to be more congested, such as rush hour.

The guidance helps freight operators and retailers plan their deliveries using techniques to minimise disturbance to residents and will help to free up peak time road space for other road users and reduce congestion. It will also help reduce the impact of carbon emissions and lead to more reliable delivery schedules.

Trials of out-of-hours deliveries were held by local authorities in 2010 and a temporary code of practice issued in 2012 by Transport for London for the Olympic Games.

The new guidance builds on that by setting out the benefits from quiet deliveries and provides a comprehensive guide to establishing a scheme. It consists of separate sections for retailers, hauliers, local authorities and construction firms. A further section for community groups will follow shortly.

The new guidance, which fulfils a commitment in the Logistics Growth Review of 2011, is available on GOV.UK.