The Traffic is Coming

It happens every year.  August is quiet, with people on holiday, schools off – then September comes.  A trickle at first, then a flood of traffic hitting our streets.  Building all the way through October to the end of November.

This year will be different

Where in previous years traffic levels have risen but then plateaued, as slowing motor journeys encourage people back to public transport from cars, leaving space for commercial traffic, this year that option is less tenable with Covid 19 levels rising. 

If even a fraction of the trips made by public transport are made by motor instead – our streets are going to lock up, freeze. Motor vehicles are a horrendously space-inefficient way of moving people and goods.  There just isn’t enough space for much of London’s movement to be catered for by motors. Traffic flow will stop. 

It could have been so much better

During lockdown we all saw how quickly people from all walks of life would take to their bikes when given the space to do so by departing motor traffic  with cycling levels rising by over 100%  in an incredibly short time frame.  The alternative is clear: allow people to cycle in spaces away from motor vehicles, and a significant number will do so.  Central government, TfL and some local authorities have tried to act fast enough to keep up – with School Streets, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and pop-up bike lanes, providing alternatives to driving. These are the solutions that will help head off the impending traffic.  

Other councils have lagged, prevaricated, delayed (and in one case even chickened out before measures have even had the chance to have a positive impact) – and are failing to prepare their streets for what is coming .  We’re all going to pay the price for those councils that have failed to act.  The routes are not linked well enough for the type of shift to walking and cycling that is needed to prevent the onslaught of traffic that is coming as the economy starts to wake up.  

We ask that you start thinking now about how your movements and deliveries can be done without motor vehicles.

Need to get your kids to school, unaccompanied to free you up, with our DBS check staff?  No problem.

A startup, needing a little helping hand with your home deliveries or B2B?  We do that.

Need assistance with your large scale logistics? We have hi-tech software, experienced operations staff, distribution sites and trailers (see case study of a 10,000 package, 150,000kg delivery operation here). 

House move?  Check.

You’re a baroness, needing to get to the House of Lords you say?  We got you.   

This list could be very long – there’s a lot that we can do faster, cheaper and more reliably than motors – contact us if you’re unsure if we can help or not!