Almost half (46 per cent) of Londoners would choose a retailer that uses electric vans for deliveries over a firm using diesel or petrol power, new research reveals. Just one in 20 people (5 per cent) said they would prefer deliveries to come from a petrol or diesel van.
The research, commissioned by electric courier startup Packfleet, surveyed Londoners’ views on air quality in the capital. It revealed the strength of public demand for more green delivery methods – despite most respondents not realising the deadly health impact of urban pollution.
A summary of the survey’s other findings:
- Nine in ten (91 per cent) wanted to see an increase in green deliveries.
- Nearly two in three (65 per cent) wanted those green deliveries to reduce air pollution.
- Two in five (38 per cent) wanted green deliveries to reduce noise pollution.
- More than one in three (37 per cent) felt green deliveries would end up being cheaper anyway due to fuel inflation.
- More than two in three of those surveyed (70 per cent) supported more EV deliveries to help the UK move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.
- The survey found just one in five (22 per cent) thought companies using petrol and diesel delivery vehicles should be allowed to pass on inflationary costs to customers.
- Fewer than one in four people (23 per cent) knew how many pollution-related deaths there are in London each year (4000) as reported by the Greater London Authority).
- More than half of respondents (52 per cent) said that the high price of electric vehicles was a barrier to clean air while two in five (40 per cent) said the number of charging points was a barrier.
More than 4 billion parcels are sent in the UK each year and in London, a daily army of small vans drive past schools, nurseries and packed pavements polluting as they drop off their many deliveries.
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