An assessment of the ability of cargo buses to improve the efficiency of small businesses' logistics, reduce carbon emissions from transport, and impr

在整个英国，公交车为农村社区，特别是低收入群体、通勤者和残疾人提供了至关重要的通道和机动性，并提供了一种减少拥堵和碳排放的手段。然而，人口分散和人口密度较低，使得在偏远农村地区提供公共汽车服务更具挑战性。许多服务只有很少的乘客，它们的存在在财务上是不稳定的，特别是在公共汽车上的乘客数量仍然大约是大流行前水平的70%的情况下。寻找新的收入来源以改善公共汽车服务的财务可行性是一个重要的行业挑战。新冠肺炎疫情和经济气候(尤其是高通胀)对许多农村公交线路构成了生死存亡的威胁，这些线路对它们所服务的社区至关重要。2022年，尽管英国政府承诺改善当地交通状况，但几乎十分之一的英国当地公交服务停止了。对于英国各地的许多地方当局来说，这是一个严重的问题，因此找到降低或抵消运营成本的方法(例如，通过运送货物和乘客)是一项重要的研究和实践挑战。农村经济的特点是大量的小规模企业，通常将他们的商品分发给买家自己，运输和物流在财务和员工时间方面都是一项可观的成本。例如，食品和饮料行业的生产商通常会定期向当地和地区买家送货，但这些旅程中的许多都是小批量的。提高物流效率可以改善企业业绩，减少碳排放，但需要与其他参与者更多地合作，实现互利共赢。货运巴士按常规服务载客和载货，它们可以利用现有的公交车，但有专门的货物运输空间。诺森伯兰县议会强调，在扩大食品和饮料以外的货物运送方面，需要加强深入农村方面的工作。它还强调有必要通过提高车辆利用率来增强公共汽车服务的财务可持续性，目前车辆利用率在非高峰时间约为25%-30%。该项目的目的是：1.将英格兰偏远农村地区小规模生产者的物流需求和交付与现有的公共汽车路线和时刻表相对应，以确定最有希望的合作机会和建立货运巴士路线。这将涉及到与东北食品和饮料(FADNE)及其成员的合作。调查设立货运巴士的实际和法律要求。这将涉及与商业服务经营者、地方当局和交通当局的联系。还将注意货运巴士服务的成本和支付意愿。为英格兰各地的小规模生产者采用客运巴士进行货运的潜在财务收益和成本建立模型，并研究其对碳足迹的影响。为承接少量试验货运航程建立概念验证，为今后的服务开发和商业化提供依据。

Across the UK, buses provide vital access and mobility for both rural communities, particularly low-income groups, commuters and the disabled, and provide a means to cut congestion and carbon emissions. However, fragmented, and lower density populations make the provision of bus services in remote rural areas more challenging. Many services run with few passengers and their existence is financially precarious, especially as passenger numbers on buses remain approximately 70% of the pre-pandemic level. Identifying new sources of income to improve the financial viability of bus services is an important industry challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic climate (especially high inflation) have placed an existential threat on many rural bus routes that are vital for communities they serve. During 2022, almost one in 10 local bus services ceased in Great Britain despite government promises to improve local transport. This is a significant problem for many local authorities throughout the UK and therefore finding ways of reducing or offsetting operating costs (for example, through the carriage of cargo as well as passengers) is an important research and practical challenge.A mass of small-scale businesses characterizes rural economies, often distribute their goods to buyers themselves, with transport and logistics a substantial cost financially and in terms of staff time. For instance, food and drink industry producers typically undertake regular deliveries to local and regional buyers but many of these journeys involve small loads. Improving the efficiency of logistics can improve business performance and reduce carbon emissions but requires greater co-operation with other actors for mutual benefit.Cargo buses carry both passengers and goods on regular services, and they can utilize existing bus vehicles but with dedicated space for the transport of goods. Northumberland County Council highlighted the need to strengthen deep rural aspect in terms of expand the goods delivery beyond food and drink. It also emphasized the need to enhance the financial sustainability of the bus service by improving the vehicle utilization which is currently around 25-30% during the off-peak hours.The purpose of this project would be to:1. Map the logistics needs, and deliveries, of small-scale producers in remote rural areas of England against existing bus routes and timetables to identify the most promising opportunities for co-operation and establishment of cargo bus routes. This will involve working with Food and Drink North East (FADNE) and their members.2. To investigate the practical and legal requirements for the establishment of cargo buses. This will involve liaison with business service operators, local authorities and transport authorities. Attention will also be paid to costs and willingness to pay for cargo bus services.3. To model the potential financial benefits and costs for small-scale producers across England of adopting passenger buses for cargo shipments and examine the impact on carbon footprints.4. To undertake a small number of test cargo journeys to establish the proof of concept, to provide a basis for future service development and commercialization.