Solution area: Pedestrian deliveries Rising delivery volumes clog cities with traffic and emissions. In dense centres, delivery drivers in vans and trucks can spend up to 28% of their trip searching for parking, with circling and idling adding to congestion and pollution.40 To solve this, cities and operators are piloting alternatives – such as pedestrian delivery. Some cities are already adopting a pedestrian delivery model. In Tokyo, pushcarts are a standard sight on streets too narrow for vans. Paris and Vienna are also expanding pedestrian deliveries, while in New York City, couriers can be seen pushing e-carts in congested areas.41 This promising practice examines London’s Walker On-Zone Dispatch (OZD) pilot, where stationary vans serve as anchor points for foot-based parcel delivery using pushcarts. With parcel volumes in the UK hitting 3.9 billion in 2024 – close to pandemic peaks – central London’s high demand and limited curb space make it a strong testbed for walking-based delivery models within broader urban policy efforts. Promising practice: Amazon’s Walker On-Zone Dispatch (OZD) Snapshot Launched in 2024, the Walker On-Zone Dispatch (OZD) pilot tested the viability of on-foot parcel deliveries, using a single 3.5-tonne van as a day-long anchor point to support 4-5 porters with pushcarts. Designed for high-density city centres, the model addresses traffic, limited parking and regulatory barriers to van-based logistics. The pilot now operates in three London boroughs – Hackney, Westminster and Islington42 – enabling over one million parcels to be delivered on foot. It forms part of broader industry trials to reduce emissions in last-mile logistics, with 70% of London’s Congestion Charge Zone already served by delivery partners using electric vans, e-cargo bikes, or walking porters.43 Although the pilot has produced early results, it also highlights the potential limits of walking logistics. The success of this model depends on the careful siting of anchor points and the right regulatory support. Environment: –Cut vehicle trips, emissions and curbside idling in central London –Align with Amazon’s Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon by 204044Operations: –Improve efficiency in dense areas where vans looking for parking lose time and increase emissions from idlingPolicy: –Align with London’s growing low-emission and traffic-restriction measures through innovative solutions Implementation The pilot showed that shifting deliveries to foot requires more than a new operational model – it depends on the right enabling conditions. Five levers proved decisive in shaping outcomes: regulatory flexibility, anchor point operations, community engagement, adaptive feedback loops and a clear expansion trajectory.45Objectives The programme advances a wide array of objectives:

Urban Deliveries Case Studies Combined 2025