Public Funding for Gnewt Cargo Limited

This submission sets out Gnewt’s Stream 1 proposal in partnership with the GLA. The trial will run from April 2017 to 2019. Gnewt proposes to lease 19 Voltia & BD-OTO, N1 & N2 vehicles for last-mile logistics that are potentially far better suited for urban deliveries. This project is a first of its kind deployment of innovative larger zero emission vans in London which will actively disrupt existing diesel fuelled vehicle technology and create a legacy for the future. The trial directly delivers the LoCITY & Mayor’s programmes to improve air quality. Our proposal is essential, as existing barriers won’t change while cost, data gaps, limited vehicle options and unproven claims remain. Proving the viability of these innovative vehicles in a commercial setting will allow OLEV, GLA & LoCity to collate robust whole life costs, mileage, efficiency & energy data which plugs the current data gap in policy making. Whilst leasing and operational costs are high versus diesel, demonstrating that these vehicles can successfully overcome current electric vehicle limitations will help increase demand and manufacturing supply, thus driving down costs. This type of data is essential for assessing the potential for city-wide scale up in London & other leading big cities. Data from the trial will help policy makers lobby government and other EU or international funders to secure further funding for electric vehicles and charging.

DASH (Delivery As a Service for Highstreets) combines multiple technology & transport partners to create a collaborative, emissions-reducing delivery proposition involving crowd-sourced deliveries & revitalisation of inner-city high-streets via an ‘easy-entry’ B2B & B2C mobile software platform. This enables: (a) utilisation of low occupancy local authority car parks as delivery hubs (X–Doc) for courier operators, with adjacent Electric Vehicle rapid charging infrastructure, (b) operators to reduce inner city courier fleets & replace with multiple crowd-sourced onward delivery options, (c) customers to have variable delivery options (B2B & B2C), (d) a scalable business opportunity for electric cargo bicycles, (e) option for taxi drivers to multi-purpose vehicles, (f) a platform for local independent high-street traders to offer goods for delivery, click & collect & drop-off points, (g) integrated pricing, payment, routing, scheduling & customer parcel tracking options. DASH is an interoperable, scalable platform technology that can be expanded to target multiple freight operators & retailers to maximise socio-economic & environmental impact.