London-based global courier Fastlane International is calling on the UK’s political parties to introduce urban freight hubs to reduce congestion and emissions in city centres.

The parcel firm said the use of urban consolidation centres could be a vote winner, yet it has not been addressed by any of the major parties in the run-up to the general election.

Fastlane International head of PR, David Jinks, said: “A general election is the ideal platform for setting out bold ideas such as creating city freight hubs. Britain’s busy road freight network is essential to the success of our economy. However, it could be further improved by having HGVs deliver business, retail and domestic goods to freight hubs; rather than taking such large vehicles onto narrow city roads. These items would then be sorted and loaded onto smaller, greener, vehicles for final delivery into shops, work places and homes."

He added that “in an election as tight as this one”, issues such as the development of urban hubs would be a bold idea to capture voters’ interest.

“In the first four days of January this year, London’s Oxford Street hit its entire air pollution legal limit for the year. Clearly a rethink is needed, and when is a better time for a clear political lead than at a general election?" said Jinks.

Topics