NEWS ITEM


Back to News & Events




UK Delivery Costs Set to Tumble by 75% with Launch of New Online Service


11th September 2008


Offering impressive savings of around 75% as well as enormous
environmental benefits the UK Backloads concept looks set to change the
way in which we send large, fragile or valuable items throughout the UK.

The key to the success of the service is that it capitalises on the empty legs of journeys made by couriers and shipping companies. Every day thousands of vans and lorries are being driven on our roads completely empty. Official estimates have shown that the amount is as high as 25% of lorries and 15% of vans on the road have nothing onboard.   That is a staggering 562,000 vehicles releasing a massive 36 million tonnes of CO2 every year. By linking these empty vehicles with goods requiring transport in the same direction, the UK Backloads scheme dramatically reduces the number of vans on the road and the amount of CO2 emissions.

Customers with non-time critical goods requiring moving to any part of the UK simply register with the ukbackloads.com website and post their requirements on the site. This is an entirely free service to customers. Thousands of drivers, couriers and shipping companies will be checking the site constantly to link up any of their empty journeys with potential jobs. The service puts the customer and the delivery firm in direct contact allowing them to agree the price and make arrangements for collection. UK Backloads advise a guidance rate of around 25% of the normal cost if the delivery forms part of a 'backload' journey and they are travelling that route regardless of whether the vehicle is loaded or not.

The concept is a simple one yet one that benefits everybody - the customer,
the driver or courier firm, and the environment.

UK Backloads make their money by charging courier and shipping firms a
small subscription which starts at just £12.50 per month - a small sum that is easily recouped on the first job alone. The service will provide companies with the vital maximum utilisation of their vehicles needed to ensure profitable operation. With more than 15% of small independent transport companies ceasing to trade in the last three years and the latest financial burden of rocketing fuel costs the UK Backloads scheme will provide the delivery industry with a much needed lifeline.

Items of a certain size or weight are often far too expensive to be sent by the Royal Mail or by conventional courier delivery firms. Now there is a real alternative at a fraction of the cost.
 
To find out more about the most revolutionary change to the UK delivery
industry in years visit the UK Backloads website at www.ukbackloads.com.