The van in that photo is what you guys use instead of pickup trucks. I own a sign shop, and that's why I drive a pickup. I have to carry 4'x8' and 4'x10' panels and ladders and tools routinely, as well as tow a boom lift to the jobsite. If we had to drive on alleyways like that, we'd all drive Transits and Sprinters instead. Plus, where I live, the four wheel drive is a necessity, even in summer. You should see the steep gravel roads and driveways we have to negotiate.
lol I love that description, "alleyway". Admittedly, that's the narrowest part of the road shown in the pic, but the rest of the road behind the camera isn't much wider, and parking spaces line almost the entire length, with the occasional bus stop to make things even worse.
Our city buses are about the same size as your famous school buses, so they take up most of a road that size. It's bad enough when you meet oncoming traffic, but it's a nightmare getting past a bus when you meet one (they're at least every ten minutes). To make things worse, that road serves
TWO bus routes!
One side of the road behind the camera is lined with crusty old Victorian houses, which I believe were originally built for workers. If I were on the council I'd knock them all down to make some decent housing, whilst making the road wide enough for modern traffic, but I'm afraid a lot of them are used for student housing, my city being dominated by a university.
The van in the pic is owned by the convenience store that it's parked in front of. It's often got people risking their necks trying to unpack it with cars and busses squeezing by. Again, if I were on the city council I'd buy that entire block and have it demolished in order to make the road wider.
And yes, vans like that are very popular in the UK, mostly because of the weather.