Environmental Transport Association

Last updated

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) is a British carbon-neutral provider of vehicle breakdown, bicycle, and travel insurance for the environmentally concerned consumer. The ETA aims to raise awareness of the impact that transport has on the environment and help individuals and organizations make positive changes in their travel habits. They offer breakdown and road rescue services for cyclists, mobility scooter users, and motorists. [1]

Contents

In 2015, the ETA was voted Britain's most ethical insurance company by the Good Shopping Guide. [2]

Promotional vehicles

The ETA has built a number of unusual vehicles over recent years to promote sustainable transport as well as its own insurance products, two of which have gained Guinness World Records. The Guinness World Record for QTvan is a tiny caravan designed to be towed behind a bicycle or mobility scooter and is officially recognized as the world's smallest caravan. [3] The Hornster was designed and built as a way of highlighting the danger posed to cyclists by lorries in urban areas. The bike is fitted with the air horn from a freight train, which is powered by a SCUBA diving cylinder and has been judged by Guinness World Records to be the world's loudest bicycle horn. [4] The BOND bike was built by the ETA in response to the frustrations faced by urban cyclists; it features a handlebar-mounted flamethrower to dissuade motorists from overtaking too close, a caterpillar track to negotiate potholes, and an ejector seat to deal with bike thieves.

History

The ETA was founded in 1990 and became carbon neutral in 2002. It conducts and commissions research into environmental transport issues. It actively lobbies the government and key decision-makers to discuss new thinking in environmental transport. They claim to be the world's first climate-neutral motoring organization. The ETA was a founding member of Transport and the Environment promoting sustainable transport in Europe; which means an approach to transport that is environmentally responsible, economically sound, and socially just.

1992 - Green Transport Week is launched in Weybridge.

1993 - The ETA publishes Britain's first Car Buyers' Guide for people wanting to buy greener vehicles.

1995 - Sets up Walk to School Day in Hertfordshire as part of Green Transport Week. 1995: Sets up a charitable trust.

1997 - The ETA inaugurated the world's first national Car Free Day as part of Green Transport Week, which is now held on 22 September every year. In 2014 Car Free Days were held in Beijing, Moscow, and Washington.

1998 - Founder member of the Slower Speeds Initiative.

1997 - Began the "20's Plenty" campaign for urban streets and rural lanes. Via the 20's Plenty for Us organisation - partially funded by the ETA, an estimated 13 million people will be living on streets at 20 mph within the year.

2002 - The ETA Trust, a charity, became limited by guarantee.

2008 - ETA Services Ltd., the services arm, and ETA Trust, the campaigning arm, separate. ETA Services funds the ETA Trust through a proportion of its revenue.

2012 - Began the pop-up zebra crossing campaign [5]

2014 - Established the "Back on a Bike" campaign [6]

2015 - Voted Britain's most ethical insurance company by the Good Shopping Guide [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utility cycling</span> Bicycling as transportation

Utility cycling encompasses any cycling done simply as a means of transport rather than as a sport or leisure activity. It is the original and most common type of cycling in the world. Cycling mobility is one of the various types of private transport and a major part of individual mobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NRMA</span> Australian organisation

NRMA is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel and other services in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a member-owned mutual company limited by guarantee. It was formed in 1920. The Headquarters is in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car-free movement</span> Movement to reduce the use of private vehicles

The car-free movement is a broad, informal, emergent network of individuals and organizations, including social activists, urban planners, transportation engineers, environmentalists and others, brought together by a shared belief that large and/or high-speed motorized vehicles are too dominant in most modern cities. The goal of the movement is to create places where motorized vehicle use is greatly reduced or eliminated, by converting road and parking space to other public uses and rebuilding compact urban environments where most destinations are within easy reach by other means, including walking, cycling, public transport, personal transporters, and mobility as a service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living street</span> Traffic calming in spaces shared between road users

A living street is a street designed with the interests of pedestrians and cyclists in mind by providing enriching and experiential spaces. Living streets also act as social spaces, allowing children to play and encouraging social interactions on a human scale, safely and legally. Living streets consider all pedestrians granting equal access to elders and those who are disabled. These roads are still available for use by motor vehicles; however, their design aims to reduce both the speed and dominance of motorized transport. The reduction of motor vehicle dominance creates more opportunities for public transportation. Living Streets achieve these strategies by implementing the shared space approach. Reducing demarcations between vehicle traffic and pedestrians create a cohesive space without segregating different modes of transportation. Vehicle parking may also be restricted to designated bays. These street design principles first became popularized in the Netherlands during the 1970s, and the Dutch word woonerf is often used as a synonym for living street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dooring</span> Type of cycling accident

Dooring is the act of opening a motor vehicle door into the path of another road user. Dooring can happen when a driver has parked or stopped to exit their vehicle, or when passengers egress from cars, taxis and rideshares into the path of a cyclist in an adjacent travel lane. The width of the door zone in which this can happen varies, depending upon the model of car one is passing. The zone can be almost zero for a vehicle with sliding or gull-wing doors or much larger for a truck. In many cities across the globe, doorings are among the most common and injurious bike-vehicle incidents. Any passing vehicle may also strike and damage a negligently opened or left open door, or injure or kill the exiting motorist or passenger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicycle safety</span> Safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling

Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, which types of cycling environment or cycling infrastructure is safest for cyclists. The merits of obeying the traffic laws and using bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the chance of head injury in the event of a crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric bicycle</span> Bicycle with an integrated electric motor

An electric bicycle is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries and typically are motor-powered up to 25 to 32 km/h. High-powered varieties can often travel more than 45 km/h (28 mph).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycling in the Netherlands</span> Dutch mode of transport

Cycling is a common mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car (45%) and public transport (11%). Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips nationwide. In cities this is even higher, such as Amsterdam which has 38%, and Zwolle 46%. This high frequency of bicycle travel is enabled by excellent cycling infrastructure such as cycle paths, cycle tracks, protected intersections, ample bicycle parking and by making cycling routes shorter and more direct than car routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycle track</span> Bikeway between a road and sidewalk, protected by barriers

A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the roadway, but is made distinct from both the sidewalk and general purpose roadway by vertical barriers or elevation differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized scooter</span> Powered stand-up scooter

A motorized scooter is a stand-up scooter powered by either a small internal combustion engine or electric hub motor in its front and/or rear wheel. Classified as a form of micro-mobility, they are generally designed with a large center deck on which the rider stands. The first motorized scooter was manufactured by Autoped in 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternatives to car use</span> Transport modes other than cars or trucks

Established alternatives to car use include cycling, walking, kick scooters, rollerblading, skateboarding, twikes and motorcycles. Other alternatives are public transport vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycling in New York City</span>

Cycling in New York City is associated with mixed cycling conditions that include dense urban proximities, relatively flat terrain, congested roadways with stop-and-go traffic, and streets with heavy pedestrian activity. The city's large cycling population includes utility cyclists, such as delivery and messenger services; cycling clubs for recreational cyclists; and increasingly commuters. Cycling is increasingly popular in New York City; in 2018 there were approximately 510,000 daily bike trips, compared with 170,000 daily bike trips in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycling in New Zealand</span>

Cycling in New Zealand, while relatively popular as a sport, is a very marginal commuting mode, with the share hovering around 1–3% in most major cities. This is due to a number of factors, principally safety fears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycling infrastructure</span> Facilities for use by cyclists

Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except where cyclists are barred such as many freeways/motorways. It includes amenities such as bike racks for parking, shelters, service centers and specialized traffic signs and signals. The more cycling infrastructure, the more people get about by bicycle.

The history of cycling infrastructure starts from shortly after the bike boom of the 1880s when the first short stretches of dedicated bicycle infrastructure were built, through to the rise of the automobile from the mid-20th century onwards and the concomitant decline of cycling as a means of transport, to cycling's comeback from the 1970s onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shared-use path</span> Pathway for pedestrians and cyclists

A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A shared-use path typically has a surface that is asphalt, concrete or firmly packed crushed aggregate. Shared-use paths differ from cycle tracks and cycle paths in that shared-use paths are designed to include pedestrians even if the primary anticipated users are cyclists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-wheeler usage in Japan</span> Motorized and non-motorized two-wheel transportation in Japan

Two-wheelers are a common sight and widely used in Japan. Of these, bicycles and scooters are the most common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected intersection</span> At-grade road junction in which cyclists and pedestrians are separated from cars

A protected intersection or protected junction, also known as a Dutch-style junction, is a type of at-grade road junction in which cyclists and pedestrians are separated from cars. The primary aim of junction protection is to make pedestrians and cyclists safer and feel safer at road junctions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micromobility</span> Modes of transport involving very light vehicles

Micromobility refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles operating at speeds typically below 25 km/h (15 mph) and driven by users personally. Micromobility devices include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycle fleets, and electric pedal assisted (pedelec) bicycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycling in the Philippines</span> Popular mode of transport and sport in the Philippines

Cycling is a popular mode of transport and recreational sport in the Philippines.

References

  1. "Cycle Rescue, Bicycle Breakdown, 24hr Recovery". ETA. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  2. "Ethical Insurance". The Good Shopping Guide. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. "Video: Take a ride in the world's smallest caravan". 9 September 2014.
  4. "Video: Get blown away by the world's loudest bicycle horn". 9 September 2014.
  5. "ETA Trust".
  6. "ETA Trust".
  7. "Insurance Ethical Comparison".