Ecolane Transport Consultancy - Projects and Publications

Previous clients include the Department for Transport, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, Energy Saving Trust and Transport for London.

2008: NEW! Green Fleet Reviews - Ecolane's director Ben Lane is now on the panel of consultants that conduct Green Fleet Reviews on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust. Reviews are free to businesses with fleets of 50+ vehicles (20+ in Scotland) Call 0117 929 8855 for more information.

2007: Vectrix Corporation (US) - Vectrix Corp. commission LCA study to assess the relative environmental impact of the Vectrix electric motorcycle as compared to conventional vehicles. Methodology based on Life Cycle Assessment of Vehicle Fuels and Technologies project (2006), and modified for US context.

2007: WhatGreenCar? website - Ecolane designs and launches WhatGreenCar? - the independent guide to green cars in the UK. The website provides environmental ratings for every car commercially available in the UK. The site is free to users and paid for exclusively through advertising.

2007: Newride website - Ecolane redesigns and relaunches Newride - the leading website for users and buyers of electric vehicles in London. The new-look site includes an EV Guide, details of selected EV models and UK dealers, and an interactive map showing all the public access recharge points in the capital.

2007: Travelfootprint online environmental impact calculator - Ecolane designs and launches web-based travel impact comparator tool on behalf of London Borough of Camden and Clear Zones Partnership. Methodology based on Life Cycle Assessment of Vehicle Fuels and Technologies project (2006).

2006: Low CVP 'Low Carbon Road Transport Challenge' Winner - The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership challenged the UK’s policy and academic communities to contribute innovative proposals to accelerate the shift to low carbon vehicles. Ecolane with the Open University was one of the four Challenge winners.

2006: Life Cycle Assessment of Vehicle Fuels and Technologies - Ecolane was commissioned by the London Borough of Camden to conduct a desk-based research project to assess the life cycle environmental impacts of commercially available road vehicle fuels and technologies in the UK.

2006: Evidence Based Review of Public Attitudes to Climate Change and Transport Behaviour - Robert Gordon University, Ecolane and the University of Surrey were commissioned by the Department for Transport to improve the evidence base for policy concerning climate change and travel choices.

2005: Car buyer research report for LowCVP - Ecolane was commissioned by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership to conduct the first phase of research investigating consumer attitudes to low carbon and fuel-efficient passenger cars. The final report was published in May 2005.

2004: Travel Plan Coordinator Training Pack - design of training pack for Transport for London consisting of self-directed teaching guide, group workshop activities and interactive spreadsheets. Published June 2004. Training workshops ongoing.

2003-2004: Taxation Futures for Sustainability Mobility - the ESRC funded Taxation Futures project which formed part of the Environment and Human Behaviour programme explored the transport and environmental effects of different tax regimes within the road transport sector.

2003-2004: Site Specific Advice Evaluation Project - contracted by the Department for Transport to evaluate the Site Specific Advice programme for Travel Plans. The final report "Evaluation of School and Workplace Travel Plan SSA Programme" was published in 2004 by the Department for Transport.

2002: Energy For A Sustainable Future - co-authored teaching material for the Open University's T206 course launched in 2003. Publication: Lane B. and J. Warren (2003) "Managing Energy Demand", Sustainable Road Transport Technologies. Boyle, G. (Eds), Open University, Bath Press, Glasgow.

2002: Implementation Strategies for Fuel-cell Powered Road Transport Systems in the United Kingdom - the director of Ecolane completed a doctoral thesis exploring the use of 'strategic niche management' to assist the implementation of fuel cell vehicles in the UK. The methodology includes the use of Strategic Niche Managament and the quantitative tool, the Lifetime Evaluation of Alternative Fuels (2) model, which is designed to assess cleaner fuels and technologies on economic and environmental grounds. The thesis applies these methods to evaluate several fuel cell vehicle options for use in the UK. The analysis considers the merits of fuel cell transport in the context of the existing oil ICE regime. The results are used to construct a fuel cell vehicle incentive strategy that could be used to inform future UK transport policy.

2002: Stroud Car Share - Ecolane completed a feasibility study for the Stroud Car Club in Gloucestershire. This assessed the viability of a new car-sharing scheme for the region. The Club successfully launched in 2003.

2001-2002: Streets Alive! Festival - Ecolane was one of the founding partners of the Streets Alive! Festival, which promotes travel awareness through hosting car-free events in the UK.

2001: HP Bulmers Transport Audit - Ecolane completed a transport emission audit for HP Bulmers Ltd as part of their sustainability drive. This led the company to consider alternative vehicle fuels and non-road modes for freight distribution.

2001: Frome Travel project - Ecolane assessed the use of IT for the community-based Frome Travel Project. This project consulted widely among the local community to assess the potential for new transport provision to compliment and extend the existing 'conventional' transport services in the area.

2000: Bristol Car Share - the director of Ecolane was one of the founder members of the Bristol Car Club launched in July 2000. The scheme has over 50 members and operates five cars.

1998-2000: Urban Transport Options for Propulsion Systems and Instruments for Analysis (UTOPIA) - employed as a consultant to monitor and report on UK cleaner road vehicle technologies for the European UTOPIA Project supported by the European Commission - Transport RTD Programme. Publications: Utopia (2000) Demonstrating Cleaner Vehicles: Guidelines For Success. European Commission, Transport RTD Programme. EC contract UR-97-SC-2076; Lane B. (2000a) Case Study: Arriva LPG Bus Project, UTOPIA Project, supported by the EC DG VII, 4th Framework Program for Research and Science, Transport Program (1998-2000).

1999-2000: Cleaner Vehicle Task Force - in association with the Energy Saving Trust, Ecolane compiled the report for the Alternative Fuels Sub-Group of the Cleaner Vehicle Task Force. This covers cleaner petrol and diesel, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, electric, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. Publication: DTI (2000) The Report of the Alternative Fuels Group of the Cleaner vehicle task Force Report, Department of Trade and Industry, Automotive Directorate, The Stationery Office, London (pdf 1MB file).

2000: The public understanding of transport and the environment - Ecolane conducted research into the public understanding of the environmental impact of road transport issues. This built upon the initial findings of the pilot study which led to publication in the Journal of the Public Understanding of Science. Publication: Lane B. (2000b) Public understanding of the environmental impact of road transport. Journal for the Public Understanding of Science. Vol. 9, pp165-174, IOP, UK (pdf 100kB file).

1999: Workbook for Strategic Niche Management - co-author of guidebook for technology managers using Strategic Niche Management. Publication: Weber M., R. Hoogma, B. Lane and J. Schot (1999) Experimenting with Sustainable Transport Innovations. A Workbook for Strategic Niche Management. Seville, IPTS, JRC.

1999: Docklands Light Railway Travel Survey - employed as consultant to the Open University to analyse data for the Docklands Light Railway Travel Survey. Publication: The 1998 Beckton Travel Survey - report delivered to London Transport in February 1999.

1996-1998: Strategic Niche Management - employed as a consultant to report on the Coventry Electric Vehicle Project for the European Commission. Worked as part of a 12 member European team within the Strategic Niche Management as a Tool for a Transition to a Sustainable Transport System Project administered by the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Publication: Lane B. (1998a) Promoting electric vehicles in the United Kingdom: A study of the Coventry Electric Vehicle Project. Case study for the project 'Strategic Niche Management as a tool for Transition to a Sustainable Transport System', March 1998, Open University, UK.

1998: Emerging Partnerships for the Development of Fuel Cell Transport - co-author of a paper concerning the emerging corporate partnerships that are being formed in the drive to mass-produce a fuel cell vehicle for the 21st century. Publication: Maruo, K. and Lane, B. (1998) Emerging Partnerships for the Development of Fuel Cell Transport, presented at the 7th Greening of Industry Network Conference, Rome, November 1998

1997: Consumer Perceptions of 'Green' Transport - sole author of paper concerning the Consumer Perceptions of 'Green' Transport, presented at the 6th Greening of Industry Network Conference, Santa Barbara, California, 1997.

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Registered ofice: 46 Green Street, Bristol, BS3 4UB, United Kingdom : VAT No. 885319683

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