Heathrow’s seeing some new tenants move in as freight forwarder, UTi Worldwide, moves in to two warehouse units at SEGRO’s Stockley Close and Avis Car Rental opens a new location at Terminal 5. UTi have taken a ten-year lease on the new space, totalling around 34,329 sq feet, for use in their global freight forwarding business. Colin Reynolds, Air Freight Director at UTi Worldwide said: “It is essential for our business that we are located very close to Heathrow.”
Avis, a partner of Terminal 5’s airline British Airways, has been chosen as the only car rental company to operate out of Terminal 5, saving customers the bus journey to other terminals to collect their cars. Avis UK managing director, Kaye Ceille, says, “Our launch at Terminal 5 forms an important part of our business strategy to make high quality and accessible car hire available to those coming in and out of the UK, wherever and whenever they need it. We’re delighted that Avis customers are the first to be served at Terminal 5.”
A new satnav could help save cyclists lives. The new device will alert lorry drivers in London when they are approaching cyclist blackspots, giving them a warning to keep an eye out. Software developers Navevo have programmed in 100 areas where large numbers of HGVs and cyclists converge based on information passed to them by Transport for London. The device will issue an alarm and a pop-up icon to alert HGV drivers that they’re entering such a blackspot. It is hoped that cyclists deaths caused by collisions with HGVs, with 28 cyclists killed since 2009. After climate change scientist Dr Katharine Giles was killed after a collision with a tipper truck as she cycled to work earlier this month, Mayor Boris Johnson warned that HGVs could be banned from central London during parts of the day unless safety standards improve. The ProNav HGV Cyclist Alert is hoped to help reduce casualties to zero, and is available to registered lorry fleets at £170.
Members of the Road Haulage Association get a free pass to use the M6 toll road during July after negotiations between the RHA and toll road operator, Midland Expressway. Part of a month-long trial, access to the road is open to any RHA member not currently an account holder for the toll road. Those trialing will be given a card pass to gain free access during the trial period, running from Monday, 1st July and ending midnight, July 31st. The offer came about after the RHA and Midlands Expressway began talks on how to reduce congestion and pollution, and make the toll road more appealing for truck drivers. It’s hoped that the trial will encourage RHA members to use the road in the future.