My Way of Dealing With Rising Gas Prices
Today I took a step toward having more efficient means of motorized transportation — I bought a small motor scooter. A Honda Metropolitan in “Salsa” red to be exact.
No, I’m not giving up bicycling. But there are times when I need to get somewhere faster than my bicycle will take me. I look at it as having multiple modes of transportation: walking, bicycling, MetroBus/MetroLink, scooter and finally my car. I plan to use all of these methods of transportation.
Back to the scooter. I rode it from Creve Coeur home today via the Loop and Central West End. Very fun!!! I was easily able to reach speeds of 30mph and if pushed I could get to 35mph. That is about the limit especially considering that my weight is at the top of the payload. On the ride home I saw a few other scooters including the same exact model.
Meeting clients to show houses and such just takes too much time by bike but by scooter it should be a breeze. I hope to significantly reduce miles that would normally go on my car which, in town, does well to get 20mpg. With fuel economy around 80mpg+ I will be saving money while having fun.
I estimate that given current fuel prices every 5,000 miles I can put on the scooter rather than my car I’ll save at least $600. As fuel prices rise the savings will be even greater. In less than 3 years the scooter will pay for itself in fuel savings. My scooter has a 49cc engine which is an entry level size. The advantage of these small engined scooters is they do not require licensing, special liability insurance or motorcycle license. A regular drivers license and helmet are required by Missouri law.
Not all scooters are created equal. Most people know the classic vintage Vespa scooters from Italy. These and other older scooters were not the best for the environment. Sure, they sipped fuel but lacking modern emissions equipment they would unload hydrocarbons many times that of a car. Two-stroke engines, like used in lawnmowers, are inherently worse than four-stroke engines with respect to pollution. This Honda is a model of efficiency with both four-stroke and liquid cooling (vs air cooling). Modern Vespa scooters and some others have environmentally friendly two and four-stroke engines. Unfortunately, many others on the market are not so kind to the environment.
Scooters with engines greater than 50cc are required to be licensed and have liability insurance. A motorcycle license is also required. Honda offers an 80cc scooter as well as models with 150cc and up. Most manufacturers go from 50cc to 150cc. Most 50cc models are two-stroke (again, the Honda is an exception) while the larger 150cc models are four-stroke. I’m considering taking a motorcycle safety class.
High fuel prices are here to stay. The US cannot continue to sustain our sprawling habits and SUVs. What are you doing to live in a more sustainable manner?
[UPDATE 9/5/05 @ 7PM - Be sure to check the laws in your state as some do require licensing and motorcycle licenses even for 49cc scooters. - SLP]
– Steve
