It’s not that long ago when we were using handwritten dockets and checklists to schedule our workload. I remember back in the 1990s writing out delivery instructions for the daily influx of parcels that passed through our depot.

The phone would be ringing off the hook with customers wishing to place orders or requesting PODs, and life in the office was generally mayhem! Organised mayhem of course!

As mobile phones were very expensive still, we used in cab radios, difficult to hear due to interference, and less convenient for the drivers to use.

Things have moved on a lot since then and a lot of the arduous manual tasks are a thing of the past. Thank goodness! I wonder now how we coped and managed to get every parcel...

The latest statistics issued by the Government state that the number of licensed vehicles on Great Britain’s roads reached 36.5 million, up 1.4% in the year to September 2015.

New registrations for July – September 2015 have increased by 8% since the same period in 2014.

With road usage on the rise, can our existing infrastructure cope? And is the answer simply to build more roads?

There’s no doubt that traffic congestion takes its toll on the quality of life, affecting the environment, personal wellbeing and fuel economy as well as adding to the pressures of businesses that use the roads for transportation...

We’ve all been enjoying lower prices at the pumps – since Summer 2014 in fact, but why has the price of petrol come down when historically they have only ever gone up?

Well, we’re in the middle of an oil price war – between the US and the Opec countries – made up mainly of the Middle East countries including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The US has hit upon vast reserves of shale oil, enabling it to increase production of oil over the last 7 years and become virtually self sufficient in energy production. However, the Opec countries have risen to the challenge, increasing production too, to drive down prices and cut...

A recent report by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) stated the Tories are ‘miles ahead in industry poll’.

More than half – 57.7% chose the Conservatives. Labour accounted for just 8.2% and the Lib Dems just 0.8%.

These were the results of an exit poll taken at the Commercial Vehicle Show in April.

Richard Burnett, Chief Executive of the RHA comments, “these results are no revelation, under the last Government, the industry benefitted from a sustained fuel duty freeze”. He went on to say that other political parties see fuel duty as a cash cow, and voters are concerned that this will happen again.

With May 7th looming ever closer, have you given much thought to which party you will be voting for, and what their policies will be?

We thought we’d take a closer look at the transport policies, to see if and how they might affect the courier business, the transport industry, and of course all of us. It makes for interesting reading.

For example, did you know that if UKIP managed to come to power they would scrap HS2, public toll roads and require foreign vehicles to purchase a Britdisc before entry into the UK?

The revenue from Britdiscs will be used to contribute to the upkeep of the UK’s...

Regular vehicle safety checks our part of daily life here at Courier Direct, but we’re often appalled by the lack of preparation for winter conditions we witness when out on the roads.

So, here are some tips to keep you safe, secure and arriving on time, wherever your journey takes you:

Check the following:

• Your anti-freeze levels
• Tyre depth and pressure – at least 3mm of tread is recommended
• Battery life – a local garage can check this for you
• Windscreen wiper blades for signs of splits or damage
• Windscreen wash – top up if necessary
• Are all your light bulbs working, and clean so they can be seen?
• Fuel levels – never...

Manchester has them, Nottingham has them and Birmingham has got in on the act too, so why can’t Bristol have trams?

It seems like we’re the poor relation when it comes to transport systems, and whilst other cities press ahead with slick, attractive trams for mass movement of their citizens Bristol is being left behind.

People like them, they prefer them to buses, because they’re cleaner, more reliable, and they simply appeal to the modern commuter.

But scouring recent reports online, there’s a lot of discussion about missed opportunities, having to cross council boundaries, and basically too much procrastination by the...

We’re often asked to move fragile items – from freshly baked celebration cakes to elegant sculptures, hand made furniture and glass.

So, how best to keep them in tip top condition throughout their journey?

With the best will in the world, and our most careful drivers, you can’t underestimate the risk involved in moving fragile items. It’s best to be over cautious to be absolutely sure your goods will arrive intact.

So here are our tips for the ultimate protection of packages on our dedicated same day courier service:

• Invest in proper protective packing material...

It's great to see the Government tackling insurance fraud at last.

They’ve put a cap on the fees that medical professionals can charge for an initial whiplash report. Current prices can be anything up to £700 per report, giving doctors a nice little sum for their trouble.

From October onwards, they’ll be limited to just £180 per report, which may well help them think harder before encouraging crash victims to seek compensation.

And that’s good news. Because right now, all our insurance bills are inflated by an average £90 per year to pay for insurance fraud in the motor industry.

And the ‘no win no fee’ deals aren’t so attractive for lawyers either. They’ll no longer be able to double...

According to Wikipedia, "White Van Man" is a stereotype found in the United Kingdom driving smaller-sized commercial vans; perceived as selfish, inconsiderate, mostly working class and aggressive.

But is that a fair assessment of hard working delivery drivers on a mission to deliver goods and services for the millions of businesses that need their attentive service day in day out, and overnight too?

Now you may say, as an employer of white van men, we’re a bit biased. But it’s never a pretty site to see the amount of bad press out there, almost on a daily basis – is it really with foundation?

So, we’re here to redress the balance a...

Your company name – it says a lot about you – or at least it ought to.

And we were just talking in the office this week about some of the names of our clients, and how they came about.

And then we started to talk about more famous names – like Virgin, Revolver and Chemical Records – they have an edge to them that we quite like.

Then there are other companies choosing names that can’t be pronounced, or are often misheard over the phone – how much time is spent by staff just spelling their company name each time they talk to someone?

Of course we all want to be different, to stand out from the crowd and have a name that no one else thought of. But...

It’s tempting to employ your own driver when your business involves making regular deliveries. It keeps control of costs and delivery schedules.

But is this the best option?

Add together the cost of recruitment, salary and holiday cover plus buying the vehicle, keeping it on the road and the insurance, and it does in fact soon mount up.

And what do you do when the van is in for a service? Or even worse, involved in a bump and it’s off the road for a while – you still have to pay for your driver, and maybe the cost of a hire vehicle on top.

But you’ll have your own van on the road – with your livery, advertising your company wherever it goes....

Bristol – a booming city at the heart of the South West. And situated at the intersection between the M5 north to south, and the M4 East to West - it’s the perfect location for a courier partner in the South West.

• Keep your own drivers in your area
• Use couriers who know the local roads, short cuts, and how to avoid the jams
• Save money with back load rates
• Quicker deliveries for more remote locations
• Faster response times for collections in the South West
• Regular shuttle runs to South Wales and major towns in Cornwall and Devon

Have we convinced you yet that this all makes perfect sense?

Of course, you need a partner you can trust, and that involves...