As an industry, goods have been passing from one establishment to another based on a physical signature for centuries, in fact, the first proof of delivery has been traced back as far as 1685. Despite the digital revolution and the technology that we currently have at our disposal, not a lot has changed since then in terms of how goods are transferred through the supply chain, with many companies still using paper and ink to validate the delivery and reception of goods.
The road is often overlooked when discussing the future development and digital transformation of the modern transport infrastructure. Afterall, we have all heard of connected cars, self-driving cars, gps navigation, route optimization apps and ride-hailing services. You would be forgiven for thinking how the common road fits into this digital revolution, as it turns out, the road itself can be a platform for an amazing array of innovations.
When movement restrictions were first announced across Europe due to the coronavirus outbreak, e-commerce was singled out as the big winner. Although it might have seemed an obvious prediction at the time, the situation surrounding the outbreak also raised concerns among some experts that the whole e-commerce structure could collapse due to the unprecedented demand with consumers being left no choice but to shop online.
European environmental programmes encourage or impose measures that reduce air pollution. Air quality standards have been established which compel national governments and urban areas to implement measures to reduce pollutants emitted by traffic.
In the face of the current Coronavirus pandemic that has shocked the world over recent months and weeks, governments at local, regional and national level are being forced to make some unprecedented decisions to protect the health an well-being of society, whilst simultaneously trying to avert a local/global economic meltdown.
The Decree that was adopted by the Italian Government on the 8th March to help combat the Coronavirus outbreak continues to restrict movements in the whole territory of Lombardy and in the 14 provinces of Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont, Marche, which include the following 14 cities:
The European Union has recently published a paper which acts as a guideline for border management measures to protect health and safety and ensure the availability of good and essential services across the European Union.
It is expected that alternative fuels will play a more and more prominent role in the decade to come in view of the EU objectives of gradually substituting fossil fuels with fuels of renewable origin, growth and jobs, competitiveness, transport decarbonisation and the diversification of the energy sources. However, there is currently a lack of attractiveness of fuel alternatives for consumers and businesses, and no clear market signals with regards to the potential of the different new alternative fuels. For instance, alternative fuel vehicles only represented 3.4% of the European car fleet in 2012. That number has risen steadily to around 7% in 2019 but the use of alternative fuels in heavy duty vehicles and maritime and aviation modes is still negligible.
The following report details the new commercial vehicle registration in January 2020. A summary of the statistics focusing on new LCV and HCV vehicle registrations across Europe and in the UK. The report focuses specifically on LCVs up to 3.5t and HCVs over 16t and does not take into account passenger transport of any type.
The Department for Transport (DfT) in the United Kingdom has announced a major funding package of over £100 million in improvements to the UK road network.