Hmm. Advice, please:
I’m going tomorrow morning to take a look at an electric scooter — an EVT168 to be precise. This is a scooter of the same type as a Vespa, a kind of retro Italian thing, but instead of running on gas, it’s completely electric. It plugs in to charge, runs at about 30mph for up to 30 miles.
Right now, all my driving consists of short trips to the store, to the post office, and to the mall; and a Prius is incredibly inefficient on short trips. A scooter would be ideal for my every day errands, and should I move to a more urban environment as is my current plan, it would be even better.
But here’s the thing: it costs $1900.
If you crunch the numbers logically, it’s clear that it would take a very, very long time to recoup that investment just from the savings in gas from not driving the car. And since my car is a partial-zero emission vehicle anyway, I don’t think the environmental impact of driving the scooter would be that improved, either.
What do you guys think?
About how far are your closer errands? Are they within 5 miles? If so, save that money and get a good road bike. You can get a basket or whatever and carry stuff home in it. I mean, if you have heavy grocery shopping to do, take the car. And a bike is great if you don’t have to get on a freeway.
Plus the health benefits are incredible.
Just a suggestion.
I have to go with a bike as well. The hill will be murder at first but soon you’ll get used to it.
If a scooter really turns out to be a more realistic option I still wouldn’t go with the electric option. $1,800 is too much and savings in gas will be offset by increase in electric bills. A much better option is a used gas scooter. Here in Seattle they are 5-$700. The the thousand dollars you save buys a hell of a lot of gas. The emissions from the scooter are also low because your only using it for short errands. You’ll still be using the car for longer trips.
If I were you, I’d at least wait ’till I’m gamefully employed. Sorry to be a downer.
The second of my kill-joys would be pointing out the ‘look.’ In ‘why I’m not a model’ you noted somewhat on image. Well, think about the image of a grown man on a scooter. Shallow, yes- but you asked.
In a nutshell, I just don’t see much of a point at this time. Save your money- the next iPod thingie is right around the corner.
Lots of good arguments, and I guess I have to grudgingly agree. Scooter? Not such a good call.
Back when I lived in downtown DC and had no car, my moped was the best thing ever. In the same situation, I would have bought this scooter in a shot.
But here in car country San Jose, where I already have a vehicle that’s as fuel efficient as I can get, it’s not necessary or indeed, safe. I realized driving last night that you can’t take a moped/scooter into the bike lanes, and the traffic on the regular roads is a bit too fast and dangerous for my liking.
Whether bike or scooter, riding to the grocery store means I don’t have much room to bring stuff back; and frankly, when I need just a few things I’ve been walking there anyway.
Yeah, I would have come to these conclusions myself in any case, but thanks for the advice.
Not a bad idea — but the fact that a) I’m out of shape and it would take me quite a while to get real use out of it and b) I live on a steep hill, so coming home would be torture — makes it unattractive. Nevertheless, it’s an idea that’s on my radar screen…