Deliveroo signs up to anti-idling campaign in London

Food delivery firm Deliveroo has signed up to Westminster City Council’s anti-idling campaign.

The company, which works with thousands of gig workers in the capital, has agreed to support #DontBeIdle to urge drivers not to idle their engines at the side of the road.

This comes as the council has written to more than 20 business leaders from some of London’s top freight, delivery, coach, taxi and private hire companies this week, asking for support given delivery drivers and commercial vehicles make up a large proportion of idling drivers.

Research shows that an average vehicle idling produces enough exhaust emissions containing harmful chemicals every minute to fill 150 balloons, and vehicles such as buses, taxis, vans, cars and delivery vehicles account for more than half of the deadliest emissions in the air.

In just over a year more than 10,000 people have signed a pledge not to engine idle and to spread the message.

Westminster City Council Leader Nickie Aiken said: ‘We have to get the message out there, turning off your engine can save lives. So having the support of Deliveroo is fantastic, as with their support we can spread the message further and help cut pollution in our city.

‘Our #DontBeIdle campaign is really sparking the imagination of people in the city and I’d urge other businesses to get involved. Poor air quality is our residents’ number one concern and so we’re leading the way to tackle this issue.’

Dan Warne, UK managing director of Deliveroo, added: ‘Deliveroo is delighted to support this campaign, working with our riders to make small changes that together result in big improvements for all residents.

‘Deliveroo riders are on the capital’s roads delivering amazing meals every single day and will be some of the biggest beneficiaries from improving air quality across London. This is a great initiative from Westminster City Council and we look forward to supporting initiatives like this across the city.’

Earlier this month, Uber introduced a 15p ‘clean air’ surcharge to journeys in London.

The app provider has an aim that all cars registered on the app will be fully electric in London by 2025. It anticipates that the first 20,000 drivers upgrading to electric vehicles to have completed the shift by the end of 2021.