Transport for London (TfL) has announced that five business groups across London will be offered a share of £170,000 of funding for innovative projects that will reduce traffic, ease congestion and improve air quality.

The funding from TfL’s Healthy Streets Fund for Business will be matched by the business groups themselves. For the first time, funding is being awarded to business groups to enable employees to walk and cycle to work.

TfL will work closely with all successful applicants and share lessons learned with businesses across the capital to help support further business-driven change.

Deputy Mayor for transport Heidi Alexander said: “We have no option but to be smarter in how our streets work. With London's population growing, congestion is not only costly and inefficient for businesses, but has a damaging knock-on effect on air quality and our environment.

"I'm delighted that this funding will not only support innovative projects that reduce the impact of the growing number of deliveries and collections, but also enable more employees to walk and cycle to work.

"Working with businesses, the roll out of these schemes will keep our city moving, helping improve health and quality of life for everyone.”

The five new schemes being joint funded by TfL will include schemes to enable cycle freight, enable people to cycle to work and reduce freight vehicle movements on the roads.

Schemes offered part of the £170,000 funding include:

• In Aldgate, investment will help the historic Petticoat Lane Market become greener and more efficient. Waste generated by the market will be taken to new compactor machines at a single collection point, reducing the number of waste freight movements and keeping the local area clean and tidy.
• In Bermondsey, a scheme will enable more cycling at the Blue Marketplace by providing cargo bikes, storage spaces and other facilities to allow people to cycle to work. This will also allow traders to move more goods by bike.
• In Hammersmith, a new freight hub will enable businesses to receive and sort more deliveries at the single location. This will reduce the number of freight vehicles needed to service the area, particularly at peak times.
• In the Hatton Garden jewellery area, investment will reduce the number of freight vehicle movements by installing a waste consolidation centre and appointing a preferred supplier for collection.
• In Streatham, a shared cargo bike scheme will enable small and medium sized independent businesses to replace cars and vans with cycle freight. The bike will be available to businesses in the area to use free of charge by using a booking app.

A previous round of funding in September last year is helping six business groups across London achieve more efficient deliveries. One scheme created a waste consolidation centre in Better Bankside, which enabled participating businesses to reduce their nitrogen oxide emissions from waste collection by 97%.

Another is encouraging businesses in the Team London Bridge area switch to cycle freight. Data from previous rounds of funding is being used to target future investment in schemes which will have the greatest impact on congestion, air quality and road danger reduction.

The Mayor aims to reduce the number of lorries and vans entering central London in the morning peak by 10% by 2026. The Mayor and TfL are also aiming for 80% of journeys in London to be made by walking, cycling and public transport by 2041.

The schemes will help businesses adapt to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) by enabling them to switch to cleaner alternatives and reducing their use of vans, lorries and other motor vehicles.