Credit Crunch sparks scooter revolution

by the red rocket | January 6, 2009 at 09:21 am

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Recent research by Armadillo Scooterwear reveals that a 21% of Brits are contemplating buying a scooter or moped to offset the cost of the credit crunch.

More than one in ten (12%) suggested they might even trade in their car altogether and just rely on a scooter as their principal means of transport. Of those who owned two or more cars, 45% would consider trading in one of their vehicles for a moped or scooter especially for short trips and day to day errands.

While 72% of those surveyed owned a car, a whopping 21% claimed they had thought about buying a scooter as a direct result of financial pressures. The survey also found that one of the main reasons why people rode scooter and 83% cited cost as their motivation. The UK have been notoriously slow at catching up behind the French and Italians who have ridden scooters for decades and currently have 10 million and 2.5 million riders of two wheeled vehicles respectively*.

In November 2008, the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI) announced that registrations of new motorcycles and scooters in October were 4% up on this time last year, contrasted with a 23% decline in car sales. Could economic pressure be the catalyst the UK needs to spark a scooter revolution?

Tim from Armadillo Scooterwear said: "People are finally coming round to the idea that scooters are not only practical and quick to get around on, but they are substantially cheaper than running a car. With the cost of fuel escalating not to mention all the other household bills that are shooting up at the moment, many people are thinking about alternative ways to get about, including scooters which is good news for their pockets and also the environment.

"When we spoke to non scooter riders in the survey, many said they had not tried riding a scooter because they were concerned about safety (43% of non scooter riders)," adds Tim. "Of course, safety is paramount when you’re exposed on the road so it’s vital that anyone thinking about getting a scooter wears protective clothing. These days it doesn’t have to come at the cost of style!"

* Source: ACEM Yearbook 2007

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israeli.agent

at 09:37 on January 6th, 2009

Five years back I used to visit a yahoogroup created for bajaj scooter enthusiasts in US. At that time that Indian company (Bajaj Auto) launched motorcycles those are more fuel efficient than scooters. I asked the group why you people go for bikes as they give more miles/gallon. I got a reply that "in US we dont really care about fuel efficiency".

hmmmmm..

Times are really changed for good.

Agent.

the red rocket

at 10:03 on January 6th, 2009

True true. In the UK, the fuel efficiency aspect is only just kicking in. In London there's also the congestion charge aspect, that scooters don't get charged for.

Paschen

at 10:16 on January 6th, 2009

Those are very popular in Japan. Scooter haven.

Amy Judd

at 10:21 on January 6th, 2009

I would love a scooter, however in bad weather forget it - it would be so miserable...

Karenke4

at 14:46 on January 6th, 2009

Scooters are great. I've always wanted one. I agree with Amy though, they wouldn't be much fun in the rainy cities, like London or Vancouver, or in the snow.

Terri Potratz

at 15:13 on January 6th, 2009

First and last time I got on a scooter, I crashed it into the side of my mother's car. In the driveway.

Thought about trying to get back on and give it another go as I don't have a vehicle, but the bus suits me just fine for now. Maybe I will get up the courage to try again in the summertime!

deadpixeluk

at 16:08 on January 6th, 2009

Scooters are an excellent alternative to the packed, smelly trains, however Westminster Council have started to an experimental charge to park, it used to be free to park your motorcycle or scooter in London but not now and you can only park in a designated bay. However there is a campaign to have the parking tax scrapped, check out the campaign website and please support the it, in a congested city like London 2 wheels whether peddle or powered is an excellent alternative, and with the credit crunch, Westminster are just using scooter riders to raise extra revenue, they are offering nothing in return. http://www.notobikeparkingfees.com show your support by coming to our next demonstration against this parking tax and by writing your objections to Westminster.

18k

at 04:36 on January 7th, 2009

eshalane

at 11:15 on January 7th, 2009

The photo I contributed was taken in London, England in March 2008. I noticed that scooters were quite prevalent there. Personally, I would like to see scooters used more as a means of transportation here in the United States. England amazed me with the quality of the public transportation and the number of people who used scooters. We here in the states could learn a valuable lesson.

eshalane has contributed a photo to this story.