future fleet forum 2018
Future Fleet Forum 2018 welcomed an exceptional line-up of speakers to share their expertise on everything from advanced vehicle systems to road safety, air pollution, procurement and innovation. Discover the key insights and international best practice in the first part of a special report by Lotte Debell.
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uture Fleet Forum 2018 was held on 24 and 25 January 2018 in the illustrious Guildhall in the City of London and at the City of London Corporation's offices. It was the first time the event was held as a partnership between LAPV, the City of London, the City of New York, and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. Sponsored by NRG Fleet Services, Geesinknorba, Assetworks, Dennis Eagle and Terberg Matec, day one saw a high profile conference, exhibition, vehicle display, and awards ceremony. This included the highly-anticipated launch of the Electra fully-electric RCV with a Geesink body. Day two consisted of a series of interactive international workshops and networking events. The event was such a success that the dates for next year have already been set. We hope you will join us once again on 23-24 January 2019 at London's Guildhall and the City of London Corporation's offices in Wallbrook Wharf. To whet your appetite, here's a review of some of the most insightful presentations from 2018.
The exhibition that ran alongside the conference offered delegates the chance to network with suppliers and find out about the latest technologies.
Welcome and introduction Alex Williams, Transport for London The Mayor of London is passionate about supporting a growing city but he wants the cleanest, safest vehicles on the roads, smarter fleet operations, and protection for industrial land – that was the message from Alex Williams, director of city planning at Transport for London, who opened Future Fleet Forum by outlining Mayor Sadiq Khan’s priorities for London’s transport sector.
10 LAPV March 2018
London, he said, is a city of perpetual and rapid change. Moreover, London is predicted to become a megacity – a city with a population of 10 million and above – within 15 years. This will strain its infrastructure and transport systems, therefore the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and London Plan are focused on growth, managed in a sustainable and responsible way. A key target is to increase the number of journeys made by sustainable means to 80% by 2041. In terms of fleet, there are four key priorities. Number one is cleanliness, because London has an air quality crisis. To this end, the Ultra Low Emission Zone is coming to central London in 2019 and a consultation is underway to increase the standards for the LEZs and to expand the ULEZ to the north and south circulars. There are also plans for zero emission zones from 2025, and since January 2018 all new licenced black cabs must be zero emissions-capable. The second priority is safety, with a major focus on HGVs, hence the consultations on the Direct Vision standard. This will be introduced in two stages between 2020 and 2024 and will ‘signal to industry that we need only the safest vehicles to work in London’. Thirdly, the mayor wants fleet operators to work more efficiently. Alex highlighted the growing number of vans in the capital and the potential issues this will cause. ‘We need to reduce the number of vans, therefore we need smarter operations, consolidation centres, and a range of initiatives to manage the volume of vehicles.’ Finally, the London Plan is seeking greater protection for industrial land, which is being sold off for residential development. ‘We need some industrial land in London – the city can’t just be residential.’