Delivery riders in a multitude of colours- green, red, orange and many others- zipping through traffic is a constant sight across our cities. They deliver parcels purchased on e-commerce sites, from food orders, groceries to everyday utilities. And while they convey a story of human ingenuity, increasing convenience, digital access and upward mobility of our people, they also have a story linked to them of increasing air pollution, emissions and congestion in our cities. These delivery vehicles, along with the wider freight ecosystem, which involves larger categories of vehicles, including trucks, release lakhs of tons of carbon emissions into our already polluted cities and streets. Let’s not forget the sad reality of Kolkata being the second most polluted city in the world as per the 2022 State of Global Air report by the Health Effects Institute.

Our air pollution problem is getting out of hand, and freight transportation is adding to the problem. Hopefully, there is a solution for a part of it, namely LMD, in the near term and for the rest, especially large freight, in the mid-term. But only if we act now.

The Sustainable Mobility Network recently launched the second edition of its consumer insight survey on the accelerated transition to Electric Vehicles (EV) in the last-mile delivery sector in India, and it covered two cities in West Bengal- Kolkata and Asansol. And the results are clear on what the solution has to be- accelerated EV transition of vehicles was prioritised by almost 98 per cent of the people surveyed- with 75 per cent of people saying it’s a critical measure to address rising air pollution and emissions in our cities. The report also indicated that at least 50 per cent of the respondents surveyed in West Bengal are also open to switching from their existing delivery companies to more sustainable companies that have commitments around EV vehicles- this rises to 61 per cent in a city like Kolkata.

The average Bengali consumer indicates very clearly through these findings that they are no longer passive when it comes to their brands and issues like air pollution, emission reduction and climate change. They have an opinion, and they are willing to voice it out loudly to ensure that the companies that they patronise make the right decisions.

Companies and the government should also take note of a recent research study published by the International Council on Clean Transportation, a long-term study on more than one lakh vehicles in Delhi on vehicular emissions, which found that real-world emissions are much higher than estimated and that commercial vehicles are disproportionately responsible for much higher emissions in comparison to private vehicles- this includes all categories including, two, three-wheelers, LCVs, heavy vehicles etc.

While the fastest action on emissions reduction and air pollution action can and should happen at the behest of the companies, the findings also clearly indicate a role for the government to play. Although, West Bengal has done much on the EV front by announcing a range of incentives and also announcing the second lowest EV charging tariff in India, a lot more needs to be done. The state of charging infrastructure remains a bottleneck in the faster adoption of EVs, along with other barriers which are non-state specific, such as high costs, lack of adequate financing, skilling etc.

Specific interventions are the need of the hour for the state to press ahead in ensuring accelerated transition. This includes ensuring strong transition mandates are placed on companies in the freight and last-mile delivery sector. While multiple states have policies recommending accelerated transition of fleets, there have been implementation gaps, and this needs to be addressed via regulatory compliance mechanisms like the Delhi fleet aggregators scheme, which mandates 100 per cent EV transition by 2030. The Delhi scheme also has mandatory registration and time-bound incremental transition targets established for new fleets on-boarded by the fleet operators. Of course, Delhi has the advantage of already having some of the highest EV adoption rates in the country, but with the right focus on incentives, subsidies, and investments, West Bengal could easily become an EV hub in its own right.

Bengal has a unique combination of robust growth and home-grown innovation coupled with environmental challenges, which makes it a fertile ground for innovative last-mile delivery and freight solutions; if successful West Bengal can serve as a model for other Indian states all facing similar challenges.

The findings from the Sustainable Mobility Network report make it clear: the future of last-mile deliveries in Bengal must be green. With consumer demand for eco-friendly services on the rise and the technological tools to meet these demands already available, Bengal has a tremendous opportunity to lead the country in sustainable mobility.

The writer is the Head of Transport and Mobility at Asar Social Impact Advisors. He has worked on climate and transport policy and advocacy for over 12 years across Asia and Africa.