Ross Phillips, Sustainable Transport Manager at Cross River Partnership (CRP) — a London-based public-private partnership — offers a grounded and practical perspective on the decarbonization challenge facing urban logistics. His answers cut through the ambition and land on the structural barriers practitioners actually face day to day.
The most honest observation in the interview is also the most overlooked: the logistics industry simply does not have enough time or capacity to innovate. Tight margins and year-round operational pressure leave little room for experimentation, particularly for smaller operators. Decarbonization is not just a technology problem. It is a bandwidth problem.
On electrification, Phillips is clear-eyed. The shift to electric vehicles requires more space and more infrastructure, especially for larger vehicles that draw heavily on the electricity network. These constraints need to be thought through systematically, not left to individual operators to solve on their own. For city logistics specifically, this means that charging infrastructure for cargo bikes and urban delivery vehicles needs to be treated as a planning and land-use challenge, not just a technical one. Phillips notes that cargo bike operators have struggled to secure safe charging locations, with landowners increasingly scrutinizing their procedures.
One of the more compelling parts of the interview is Phillips’ view on modal integration. He pushes back against the framing of rail versus road versus river, arguing instead for a collaborative suite of modes, each used for what it does best. The example he gives is striking: a full freight train can remove 20 HGVs from the road, with direct benefits for air quality and congestion. The missing link is intermodal connectivity. You still need last-mile delivery from the railhead to the door. Getting that connection right is where city logistics operators have a real role to play.
On the Thames, Phillips highlights genuine progress. River freight is returning to London, with organizations like DHL, Speedy Services, and Lyreco trialing waterway deliveries. CRP has been directly involved. Combined with the visible growth of cargo bikes across London, these are signs that urban freight is diversifying. Not just talking about it.
The Waterloo Freight Hub, a project Phillips leads, illustrates the broader philosophy: take an underutilized space — in this case, a railway arch — and turn it into a multi-modal logistics hub. The trial ran for four months, was evaluated rigorously, and is now continuing. The lesson for city logistics managers is that you do not need to overhaul everything at once. Starting small, measuring carefully, and building the evidence base is a viable and effective path.
On first-mover hesitancy, Phillips is pragmatic: de-risk the step, provide subsidies and incentives, and choose the right moment to pilot. On net-zero targets, he is cautiously optimistic. The goals are realistic, but operators need time to build capacity.
The interview closes with a telling ambition: if Phillips were Prime Minister for a day, he would put logistics and sustainable transport firmly on the school curriculum. Cities run on logistics. The more people understand that, the faster change becomes possible.