USA Today: Cities promote scooter commuting
By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-03-scooters_N.htm
Some cities are trying to combat traffic congestion by encouraging commuters to hop out of their cars and onto their motor scooters.
San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle and Cincinnati are among cities that have recently created special parking areas for scooters, which some public officials say are more efficient than driving alone in a car.
In Atlanta, the downtown business improvement association, Central Atlanta Progress, this year added bike racks to be used for scooter parking, says Angie Laurie, vice president for transportation. "We are trying to promote awareness of scooter commuting," Laurie says. "It is cleaner than many other modes" of transportation, such as cars.
The scooter-friendliness coincides with a surge in sales of scooters and motorcycles. In 2008, sales jumped an estimated 41% due to high gas prices, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade association.
The Atlanta downtown group is also interested in adding scooters to its cash-incentive program to promote alternative commuting, Laurie says, but doesn't have the budget to do so.
Las Vegas, an early adopter of alternate commuter incentives, has had a cash awards program for a decade that includes scooters. Riders are eligible for up to $50 in a monthly drawing.
Scooters take up less road space and can use high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and zip between stalled traffic, says Jacob Snow of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. "We think it is a more efficient way to move people," he says.
Columbus, Ohio, created spaces for 300 scooters and motorcycles in its downtown last year. In April, the city began charging scooter owners $50 for an annual parking permit. So far, the city has sold 147 permits, says Dan Williamson, spokesman for Mayor Michael Coleman. "It is greener than using a car. Is it better to use a bicycle? Absolutely."
Scooters, which can get 70 miles per gallon, produce less carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, than cars, but more smog-causing emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Whether they are more desirable environmentally than cars depends on whether the top concern is greenhouse gases or smog, Snow says.
"It's one solution out of many," says Shawn Haybron, a software writer, who commutes 11 miles via scooter to Columbus and often uses the new parking. "For me, I'll never ride a bicycle. I'm not going to get all sweaty."
Some cities aren't showing the love: New York has no scooter parking. Deputy transportation commissioner Bruce Schaller says promoting scooter commuting would draw riders away from mass transit.
Audrey Hepburn's madcap Vespa ride with Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday makes for great romance but bad transportation policy, says Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, a New York group that promotes biking and mass transit. "Not too many of us are looking to Rome as the model of how we should get around," he says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-03-scooters_N.htm
Some cities are trying to combat traffic congestion by encouraging commuters to hop out of their cars and onto their motor scooters.
San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle and Cincinnati are among cities that have recently created special parking areas for scooters, which some public officials say are more efficient than driving alone in a car.
In Atlanta, the downtown business improvement association, Central Atlanta Progress, this year added bike racks to be used for scooter parking, says Angie Laurie, vice president for transportation. "We are trying to promote awareness of scooter commuting," Laurie says. "It is cleaner than many other modes" of transportation, such as cars.
The scooter-friendliness coincides with a surge in sales of scooters and motorcycles. In 2008, sales jumped an estimated 41% due to high gas prices, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade association.
The Atlanta downtown group is also interested in adding scooters to its cash-incentive program to promote alternative commuting, Laurie says, but doesn't have the budget to do so.
Las Vegas, an early adopter of alternate commuter incentives, has had a cash awards program for a decade that includes scooters. Riders are eligible for up to $50 in a monthly drawing.
Scooters take up less road space and can use high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and zip between stalled traffic, says Jacob Snow of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. "We think it is a more efficient way to move people," he says.
Columbus, Ohio, created spaces for 300 scooters and motorcycles in its downtown last year. In April, the city began charging scooter owners $50 for an annual parking permit. So far, the city has sold 147 permits, says Dan Williamson, spokesman for Mayor Michael Coleman. "It is greener than using a car. Is it better to use a bicycle? Absolutely."
Scooters, which can get 70 miles per gallon, produce less carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, than cars, but more smog-causing emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Whether they are more desirable environmentally than cars depends on whether the top concern is greenhouse gases or smog, Snow says.
"It's one solution out of many," says Shawn Haybron, a software writer, who commutes 11 miles via scooter to Columbus and often uses the new parking. "For me, I'll never ride a bicycle. I'm not going to get all sweaty."
Some cities aren't showing the love: New York has no scooter parking. Deputy transportation commissioner Bruce Schaller says promoting scooter commuting would draw riders away from mass transit.
Audrey Hepburn's madcap Vespa ride with Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday makes for great romance but bad transportation policy, says Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, a New York group that promotes biking and mass transit. "Not too many of us are looking to Rome as the model of how we should get around," he says.