ABSTRACT
Regulations and licences are the instruments by which policies developed in other areas are implemented. However, of all components of the freight sector, the urban freight area has been least subject to quantity regulations, in western industrialized countries at least. Quantity regulations certainly affect ex-urban goods movements — trips to and from an urban area. The quality regulations which affect urban freight are of three main types, traffic regulations, vehicle regulations, and building regulations. In essence, traffic regulations attempt to ration the use of road space by either time or space controls. Regulations aimed at restricting trucks to particular routes usually involve either the use of 'no entry except for access' controls, or absolute limits on the size or mass of vehicles permitted to use a street. Regulations in general should satisfy certain general criteria if they are to be beneficial and not merely create confusion, frustration and excessive cost.
