Vectrix Electric Scooters

Transportation’s a large factor in most household emissions and so any effort here to reduce transport-related CO2 would be a great step for anyone to make if they want to quickly make a difference.

Although the Government recently announced their plans to provide incentives for scrapping older, less efficient cars, they don’t seem too fussy about what new car is bought with the money. Certainly newer car models are much cleaner, but say I used the money to trade up to a larger car, the environmental impact might actually be worse, particularly once production-related emissions are taken into account!

So what other options might you consider if you were to change your vehicle? The best possible option, (but one only really practical for those that live in big cities) is to use public transport wherever possible – I got rid of my car several years ago, but then I’m fortunate to have London’s Underground network which is (reasonably) reliable and has good coverage.

For other city-dwellers, a great viable option now is to go electric. In particular the Vectrix Maxi-scooters caught my eye at the recent UK Aware show.

(There are also options for people needing a family car, such as the Toyota Prius – but I’m not yet at that stage, so that’s a subject for another post!!)

Vectrix scooters are entirely electric and plug into everyday 3-pin sockets. The latest model has a maximum speed of around 62 mph – more than enough for city streets. The range for a single charge is stated at 35-55 miles, which will obviously depend on your driving style and terrain, although even within sprawling London, this should be sufficient for most places I’d want to visit.

My only concern would be running out of juice and being stranded mid-journey – A full charge apparently takes between 3-5 hours, so for important journeys you’d have to plan ahead to ensure a full battery. If the worst did happen, I’d like to believe with some charm you could negotiate some charging time from a nearby friendly household or shop socket and charge enough to be on your way within an hour or so!

The added bonus of exemption from road-tax and congestion-charge makes this a no brainer for me against conventional petrol scooters, and I hope to take a test-drive on one soon.

In terms of emissions, electric scooters emit zero CO2 – although including electricity production I’ve seen figures quoted from between 14g/km and 43g/km. However compare this to even a a modern rated car at 150g/km (not even including petrol-production related emissions) and you can see that the savings can be substantial.

See how the Vectrix compare with a similar rated petrol scooter:

Category	400cc Scooter (e.g. Suzuki Burgman)	Vectrix VX-1	London Underground Oystercard
Price	£4,710 direct from Suzuki	£6,995 from Envy Motors	£100 per month
Top Speed	c.100 mph	c. 62 mph	Highly variable!
MPG / Range	c. 60 mpg	35-55 miles on 1 charge	Zones 1-2!
CO2 emissions	unclear – some think higher than some cars, but est. c.50g/km based on Piaggio estimates	Zero (excluding electricity & production) – somewhere between 14-43g/km including	Negligible comparing using vs not
other Factors	High hydrocarbon, NOx and CO emissions

Do you have a Vectrix or electric vehicle? How much do you use it, and has it delivered the savings you’d hoped? Let us know below!