Bristol · Refrigerated transport
Our partner couriers in Bristol call at the central kitchen and the wholesaler during the night, or before dawn, to collect the meat, fish, dairy, ready meals and frozen goods your customers expect in the morning. They drive a refrigerated van that meets the Clean Air Zone standard, so there is no daily charge, and serve the Old City’s restaurants first, since its streets close to deliveries at 11am, before going on to Bath and South Gloucestershire, each customer before they open to the public.
Refrigerated in Bristol
Many refrigerated vehicles still run on diesel, and Bristol’s zone charges, day and night, any diesel van older than Euro 6: £9 a day under 3.5 t, £100 for a lorry. When a round enters the centre, the refrigerated vehicle we send is compliant, so you pay no charge.
On Broad Street between Newmarket Avenue and Bell Lane, on Bell Lane and on John Street, deliveries are allowed from midnight to 11am; in the Old City’s other streets, from 5am to 11am, Monday to Saturday. A refrigerated round that set off during the night therefore delivers to the Old City’s restaurants and shops before they open, well before the barriers come down.
At Bristol Bridge, on Baldwin Street and on Union Street, the bus gates are in force 24 hours a day, seven days a week, enforced by camera, and no van is allowed through: an empty street in the middle of the night makes no difference. Our routing algorithms order the round’s stops around them, and the handover time given to each customer allows for the detour.
Local rules checked in October 2026.
How we work
In Bristol, a refrigerated round runs while the city sleeps. Central kitchens and wholesalers load during the night or before dawn, the Old City’s streets take deliveries until 11am, and the Clean Air Zone charges a fridge unit mounted on an old diesel at any hour. Between the end of production and the first open door, it takes a compliant vehicle, at the right temperature, and an order of stops that follows the times customers take delivery.
Before the first round, we agree with you the packaging, the temperature range and the time each Old City restaurant takes delivery. The vehicle is brought to temperature before your first load, and we collect the order as soon as it is ready, whether it leaves production in the middle of the night or just before dawn. The job goes to one of our partner couriers in Bristol, chosen for their refrigerated vehicle, which is dedicated to your goods and set to their temperature range. There are almost always several customers to serve: we link them into a round that starts with the Old City addresses and follows the time each restaurant, shop or supermarket opens its doors; when your customers take delivery early, it runs as a night delivery. Our team is on hand every day from 6am to 10pm and follows the round during those hours: if an Old City restaurant is not there to take delivery, the team calls them, not your staff. Our refrigerated transport page sets out the service in detail.
Do your products travel at ambient temperature? Our same-day delivery in Bristol suits them better.
The service
The service is the same in all our cities. In Bristol, it works around the Clean Air Zone, night collections and the Old City’s morning window.
Pre-cooling the vehicle, temperature at loading, handling instructions: our team agrees the necessary precautions with you and passes them on to the transport partners.
On your regular refrigerated rounds, data loggers track temperatures during transport. If there is a deviation or anything unexpected, our team coordinates the response with the carrier and keeps you informed.
Crates, boxes or pallets: Shippr brings in equipped partners for your volumes and your temperature needs, from 0–4 °C to 0–7 °C, or −20 °C for your frozen products.
One-off delivery or a round between your stores, shops and restaurants: we adapt the transport capacity, the frequency of stops and the loading arrangements to the way you work.
A carrier unavailable, a vehicle off the road or a rise in orders? The Shippr team finds a replacement that meets your temperature requirements and adjusts the organisation of your rounds.
We coordinate the changes with the partners and let you know the new times, to limit the impact on your supply and your customers.
Frequently asked questions
Your chilled products travel at 0–4 °C, or 0–7 °C when they allow it; your frozen goods at −20 °C. For a round collected during the night and handed over in the Old City before 11am, we choose a partner in Bristol whose fridge unit holds that range, and the vehicle is brought down to temperature before you load.
Yes: from midnight on Broad Street between Newmarket Avenue and Bell Lane, on Bell Lane and on John Street, from 5am in the other streets, and until 11am, Monday to Saturday. A night round hands the goods over there before the restaurant opens. If no one is there to take delivery, the courier lets themselves in with the codes or keys the restaurant gives us and leaves the goods inside.
It is possible, but not guaranteed: it depends on the partners available for your round, and we confirm it when you book. In the Clean Air Zone, a non-compliant lorry pays £100 a day; if we send one, it is compliant, so you pay no charge.
When the round is regular, an on-board logger records the temperature continuously throughout the journey. At the slightest deviation, we call you, and our team decides with the partner courier what to do with the goods.
Send us the list of your products, their temperature range and each customer’s opening time. We will tell you which refrigerated vehicle is leaving, which address it starts with and what time it reaches each one, within the Old City’s windows.