7 steps to cleaner freight: A plan from the Sustainable Transport Cross Party Group

The inquiry highlighted both the substantial opportunities and persistent barriers in Scotland’s freight sector. Evidence was heard from organisations spanning the full spectrum of freight activity – from last-mile urban logistics to international export supply chains – including Royal Mail, the Clean Cities Campaign, Grid Smarter Cities, Transport & Environment, Highland Spring, the Scotch Whisky Association, and the Port of Aberdeen.

Scotland moves over 118 million tonnes of goods by road and just 4 million tonnes by rail each year. Yet, a single freight train can replace 76 HGVs, showing the potential to reduce congestion, emissions, and road wear by shifting long-distance freight to rail.

Efficient freight is especially critical for export supply chains, connecting Scottish businesses to EU and global markets.

Closer to home, last-mile deliveries – mostly by vans and light trucks – are increasingly congesting towns and cities, harming air quality and public health.

Smarter, cleaner approaches to logistics exist, but policy, infrastructure, and investment are needed to enable widespread adoption.

Throughout the inquiry, contributors highlighted key barriers facing the freight sector, namely:

• The lack of charging and alternative fuel infrastructure at scale, particularly on key freight corridors and at major ports and distribution hubs
• The upfront capital costs of fleet transition, which weigh most heavily on smaller operators
• The need for greater modal shift incentives to move freight from road to rail and, for international movements, from road and air to sea and rail
• Gaps in data, planning frameworks, and procurement policy that make long-term investment decisions difficult for operators
• The absence of a dedicated, coherent freight strategy within Scotland’s broader transport planning

Trailers at ferry terminal, Cairnryan. Copyright Trevor Littlewood.

Having considered the evidence, Transform Scotland, in its secretariat role for the Cross Party Group, has brought together a set of recommendations for the Scottish Government, set out below.

• Build a framework for Scottish Zero Emission Zone for Freight roll-out, with consistent national rules, central exemptions, and standardised enforcement so that local authorities can deliver them locally.
• Classify the kerbside as ‘critical urban infrastructure’ and support digital kerbside management systems – including real-time permits, booking tools, and designated on-street delivery zones – to improve loading efficiency, cut congestion and emissions, and ensure safer, fairer use of street space in Scotland’s towns and cities.
• Advocate for the introduction of a UK-wide Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate for HGVs, setting a clear sales trajectory to deliver the phase-out of new fossil-fuelled trucks by 2035 for vehicles under 26 tonnes and 2040 for vehicles over 26 tonnes.
• Reinstate Scottish Government funding for the Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) scheme to offset the growing cost disadvantage between rail and road freight, as is already the case elsewhere in the UK.
• Support the commercial adoption of low-carbon fuels in shipping and freight by providing clear guidance on future fuel options, financial incentives such as subsidised fuel, and policy measures that reduce the cost and risk of fleet transition.
• Improve connectivity to rail freight terminals (including the 48 for 48 initiative) and investment in Scotland’s rail freight terminals to improve the efficiency of operations, and to increase cross-border inter-modal services.
• Improve feeder services to EU markets and deep sea ports (in England and the near continent).