Vespa-nomics: More Scooters to America

Scooters in the USA

The Piaggio Group, a leading manufacturer of scooters, is aggressively taking its argument for use of fuel-efficient scooters to the people, specifically, Americans.

Piaggio, which builds the famed Vespa scooters, has been actively studying the impact scooters would have on fuel savings, air quality, and saving man hours otherwise dedicated to traffic delays.

For decades countries around the world have embraced the scooter as a viable means of transportation in terms of convenience and economy.

Consistently rising gas prices – further aggravated by the recent developments in Libya – may be exactly the kind of call to action that is needed stateside to get more people to consider the positive aspects of utilizing a scooter for a majority of their motorized travel needs.

It’s all about solutions. America is looking at stemming the addiction to oil like never before. Millions of miles in short trips are driven each day by Americans, usually in large trucks, gas guzzlers, and SUVs, which could be perfectly executed on a scooter.

These same trips on a scooter would add up to significant savings in fuel and, when multiplied by millions, could drastically effect the country’s daily thirst for petrol. Aside from the savings in fuel consumption there is as added benefit of greatly reduced emissions that contribute to air pollution.

Research shows that if just 10-percent of licensed drivers in America utilized scooters for 35-percent of the mileage normally driven by car, light truck or SUV, it would represent a savings of 470,000 barrels of oil per day. Just as importantly, carbon dioxide emissions would be decreased by 183 million pounds per day.

A recently released traffic study in New York City showed the reduction in fuel consumption, exhaust emissions, and congestion simply by incorporating more scooters. The private study examined results impacted by moving from 100-percent cars to a model of 80% cars/20% scooters.

The results? A reduction of 26,000 tons (52,000,000 pounds) of carbon dioxide emissions over the course of one year. A decrease of more than 2.5 million gallons of fuel per year. The study was conservative in its results with regard to the impact scooters could have on congestion as it did not factor in the fact that two scooters can occupy the same space as one car.

Ultimately the study suggested it was time to seriously consider the positive impact implementing more scooters into the traffic mix. Other countries have proven the tangible benefits of adopting scooters as a second mode of transportation, with many families owning a scooter to replace a second car.

All in all, scooters represent an intelligent option for many aspects of commuting, local errands, and basic getting around town.

Add to the convenience what scooters can contribute in terms of lowering emissions and reduced fuel needs in these environmentally challenged times and you have a pretty solid argument for taking a serious look at acquiring a scooter.

Besides, with the impressive slate of scooters available, it’s not really like you’re going to be sacrificing any fun – quite the opposite.

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