The eco van market takes one step forward and two steps back

It is fair to say that electric cars and vans have not really progressed as much as we would like them to. The Guardian describing the reasons why the electric car/van market as the ‘chicken and egg’.

They talk about the fact the electric cars are just not as good as the usual petrol guzzling monsters and that there are just not enough recharging network in the UK!

I totally agree, i have been working in the courier industry for a while and i know if there was the availability of good, cost affective eco friendly vehicles to replace Luton vans and recharging networks widely available couriers would jump on the vehicles like hot cakes.

However it is not ready and not up to the high standards of the courier industry, using efficient eco vehicles would be a huge risk as the mileage covered and limited recharging stations would make it very difficult for any courier to cover large are and restrict movement geographically.

one step forward two steps back

The technology and availability of charging networks is advancing with Chargemaster Plc announcing that it is to launch POLAR in September 2011 which will be the UK’s first privately funded nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network. The roll out of POLAR will initially be in approximately 100 towns and cities across the UK providing 4,000 fully installed electric vehicle charging bays by the end of 2012.

Adam Vanughan at the guardain argues that despite this slow but steady progress, car-makers are increasingly back-pedalling on the importance of charging points. Most of the major electric car makers I’ve spoken to recently have been at pains to emphasise they don’t think public charging points are important for electric car take-up. Early adopting electric car owners, they argue, will charge overnight and plan their journeys so that the spectre of ‘range anxiety’ – running out of charge – won’t be a problem.

He also talks about the motoring industry repackaging electric cars as second cars, this new approach is an admission that even moderately comprehensive charging coverage is still a long way off – and companies like Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Renault have electric models they need to flog now and in the coming months.

So it seems like whilst the car industry is taking a step back the charging points are taking a step forward, making the market place a very uncertain one. So reading the article makes me think that having an eco friendly van that is both reliable and affordable will we a long way off.

I am asking you what do you think is going to happen in the future? Are we going to see electric cars take off by the end of 2020 or are we going to see further development in hybrid cars?

It’s all very uncertain but i for one would love to see the government pulling their fingers out and contributing more regardless of the costing implications and budgetary constraints they have imposed. Surely they need to be thinking about what they can charge electric vehicles users so they can get motivated into providing more eco friendly vehicles for the future.

Even with Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Renault releasing new models and predictions of a breakthrough year in 2011, electric car sales are going slowly in the UK. With just a few hundred cars sold this year, and less than a thousand charging points nationwide, it seems the courier companies of the world are going to have to wait a few more years before we see a real impact on our industry

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The 3 golden rules you should consider when choosing a courier

I am not being negative towards courier services that don’t follow my three golden rules, i am being green!

It is as important as ever for your business and yourself to start taking responsibly for what you do and how is affects the planet and the people around you. In a world were being ethical is becoming more important as customer expectation increase and legislation/laws are becoming more strict and noticeable you should be activity acting consensually ethical.
 
I have devised these three golden rules when choosing a courier service as i believe if you chose a courier that doesn’t do any of the rule then you are affectively responsible for what they are doing ethically and environmentally. It sounds old now but its not easy being green and every courier should be striving to develop ethical and environmentally friendly ways of trading.

What are my three golden rules when choosing a courier?

Number 1 – CSR

I don’t believe in this day and age some courier companies are not acknowledging their responsibility as a business to their community and the wider world. If you are looking for a courier or you already have one then you need to identify their CSR. A CSR is defined as

‘CSR is the acknowledgement by companies that they should be accountable not only for their financial performance, but for the impact of their activities on society and/or the environment. Discussions surrounding the concept are still at an evolutionary stage, although the principles of CSR have long been part of business strategy’ Click here

If your courier does not do the above then it is neither acting in your businesses best interests or its own. If you find a courier who acknowledges the impact their business has on the world then you are on the right track, by identifying what they do they are aware of the impact their services have on the environment, local community, etc. If you associate yourself with this business their reputation is being transferred onto your brand. So my advice is to trade safely and think responsibly when choosing a courier service.

Number 2 – Local business: Local drivers

Did you know that the unemployment rate is currently 2.49 million? Did you know that around 226000 immigrants came to the UK last year? With thousands of job cuts being announced last year and more to role out this year i believe it is now more important than ever to use a courier service that employees local people from the areas they trade within. If you are currently using a courier and they are using workers that do not have an understanding of your area why are you using them?

Some companies use drivers from all over the UK, I believe that in order to be ethical and to support your local economy, couriers should use local drivers from your local area. Why would you want someone who does not care about your business or community dealing with your work? I believe if you want to be seen as ethical using a courier that demonstrates and supports local togetherness will benefit not only that company but your company as well.

Number 3 – Low emissions, carbon offset- well educated

I have discussed the lack of investment in the technology to make the courier service industry more green. There is currently nothing in the market which is anywhere close to what the couriers want in terms of being green and seriously reducing carbon emissions.

If you use a courier that is actively investing in technology and that is well educated and informative then you are on the right track. Your courier’s needs to be activity involved in reducing its carbon emissions and have a strategy in place to evidence that they are working towards being a greener company.

Your courier should follow these golden rules and if they don’t you need to be looking elsewhere as these are some of the biggest topics currently in the courier industry. Your company/brand needs to be acting ethically, social responsible and be green. You can do this quite simply by using a courier that follows the three golden rules.

What are your thoughts on my golden rules?

Do you/did you consider them when you chose a courier service? has you brand/businesses reputation been affected by your courier service?

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How many hours can a courier drive?

The rules and regulations on how many hours a courier driver can drive are very cloudy, in an industry were some large courier companies pay their staff under the minimum wage I believe it is important to educate the couriers in the UK to ensure they and their companies are not breaking any rules and regulations imposed on them.

To ensure you are not breaking and laws, rules or regulation i have identified a fantastic website that details all the vital information needed to ensure your business or the business you work for are practising legally.

Ethical trading is something the courier industry are not held in the highest respects for, by following the rules and regulations we can ensurew that indsutry

All the following information is quoted from the  Courier Business Stuff website, the article was Posted by Alec at 4:19 pm, July 24, 2008.

‘For most same day couriers within the UK the only legal restrictions on driving and working time will be the domestic drivers’ hour’s rules and some aspects of the Working Time Directive.

The GB Domestic Drivers’ Hours Rules apply to all drivers of goods vehicles, however small, driven in Great Britain (Northern Ireland has its own rules) in connection with a business, where EU drivers’ hours rules (tacho regulations) don’t apply.

The rules are quite straightforward. In any day (defined as 24 hours from the start of duty) you’re allowed to drive for a maximum of 10 hours. Driving is defined as being at the controls of a vehicle for the purposes of controlling its movement, whether it is moving or stationary with the engine running.

The total amount of time that you’re allowed to be ‘on duty’ for the same 24 hour period is 11 hours.

For an employed driver, including directors of limited companies, ‘on duty’ means any working time, including sweeping the yard, answering the phone, loading and unloading etc.

For a self-employed driver ‘on duty’ means driving the vehicle or carrying out any other work in connection with the vehicle or its load. Answering the phone or sweeping the yard would not be duty time, cleaning the van or loading it up would be.

If you drive for less than 4 hours in a day there are no restrictions on duty time – you could legally work in the warehouse for 10 hours and then drive for up to 4 hours.

There are exemptions to the duty time BUT NOT THE DRIVING TIME for certain trades, but same day courier work wouldn’t fall into any of the exemptions.

If you only ever drive vehicles that are under 3,500kg GVW there is no legal requirement to keep records of your working or driving hours.

• You can drive for up to 10 hours per day, breaks aren’t included in the 10 hours, nor is loading and unloading or waiting time with the engine switched off.

• You can ‘work’ for up to 11 hours per day, breaks aren’t included but all other work is included (unless you’re self-employed when some work doesn’t count).

• The ‘day’ lasts for 24 hours from the time you start work. So if you start at 10.00am today and work for 11 hours then you can’t do any more work until 10.00am tomorrow.

• There are no record keeping requirements for drivers of vans under 3,500kg.

• There is a requirement under the Working Time Directive and Health & Safety laws for drivers to have adequate rest.

The rules are enforced by VOSA, but except for in cases where tiredness has actually caused an accident I’ve never actually heard of anyone being prosecuted for being ‘over hours’ in a vehicle without a tacho or driving hour’s log. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, just that I’ve never heard of it.

In the case of an employee who causes an accident while exceeding their daily driving or duty time their employer would almost certainly be held liable for the accident. A death caused by an employee under these circumstances could leave the employer facing a charge of Corporate Manslaughter.

It should also be noted that both VOSA and the Police can go to extraordinary lengths to establish exactly how long a driver has been working, particularly following a serious accident. Mobile phone records can easily be checked to pinpoint the users whereabouts to within a few hundred metres, your own GPS tracking logs can provide even more conclusive evidence, fuel receipts can be examined and the time of fuel-card and credit-card purchases can be traced. Even a POD for a 500 mile round trip same day delivery may be enough to incriminate you.

VOSA are already using ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition), in conjunction with axle weight sensors embedded in the road, to identify overloaded vehicles. I believe that it’s only a matter of time before they use it to detect drivers’ hours offences as well’

You have to agree that the website does a good job of informing us on the laws of driving as a courier, if you require more information I have provide the link to the <a href=”Rules on Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs Goods vehicles in GB and Europe” target=”_blank”>vehicles and service operator website</a>

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