Our freight system is very badly organised at present. There's a world of improvements to be made which are being resisted at the moment.
A simple example is that Central London has very well-defined business districts. We spend billions on getting people there by underground railways but almost nothing on suitable freight logistics, which are left in the hands of largely unaccountable private operators, many with very questionable records, notwithstanding a couple who are very good, of course. They run heavy vehicles overground, causing considerable road danger.
It would make a lot more sense to stop building underground passenger railways (people generally prefer being overground, so it makes little sense to stick them underground) and build a few not very expensive underground freight railways to those business districts. Goods could arrive at a central building from which workbikes could pick them up for last-mile delivery. The occasional delivery of large or delicate items would still have to be made by heavy overground vehicle, but it would cut the number of such trips right down and wouldn't be rocket science.
Obviously, many other, less innovative improvements could also be made.
Our freight system is very badly organised at present. There's a world of improvements to be made which are being resisted at the moment.
A simple example is that Central London has very well-defined business districts. We spend billions on getting people there by underground railways but almost nothing on suitable freight logistics, which are left in the hands of largely unaccountable private operators, many with very questionable records, notwithstanding a couple who are very good, of course. They run heavy vehicles overground, causing considerable road danger.
It would make a lot more sense to stop building underground passenger railways (people generally prefer being overground, so it makes little sense to stick them underground) and build a few not very expensive underground freight railways to those business districts. Goods could arrive at a central building from which workbikes could pick them up for last-mile delivery. The occasional delivery of large or delicate items would still have to be made by heavy overground vehicle, but it would cut the number of such trips right down and wouldn't be rocket science.
Obviously, many other, less innovative improvements could also be made.