CENTRE FOR TRANSPORT STUDIES
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Executive Summary 

Microhubs are relatively small facilities located in or near city or town centres, where freight is received in bulk and then re-distributed to nearby residential and/ or commercial premises by low emission vehicles (e.g. electric vans, cargo cycles). Interest in urban microhubs has been growing, as evident by the increased number of these facilities in many cities and in the willingness of public authorities to encourage and sometimes co-fund them. The deployment of microhubs, and the associated shift towards employing low-emission vehicles is becoming urgent, given trends such as the increase in demand for home and business deliveries, shifts in political and public priorities towards sustainability and liveability (including carbon reduction, cleaner air and accident reductions), concerns about congestion, and increased competition for roadspace and kerbside space.