One of the repercussions of the current financial crisis is that it's changing the way we travel in our cities.
People in the west are wedded to their cars.
We spend as much time in them as we do in our houses.
But the cost of running them has sky rocketed and is doubling the sales of electric scooters and electric bikes.
This summer, Amazon reported a 600% rise in the sales of electric bikes.
Similarly many retailers of electric scooters are reporting 50-200% rises in sales.
So, are we falling out of love with our cars? Even before the credit crunch, commuting in cars, in major cities, was becoming troublesome.
The average speed of a journey in central London, for example, is now less than 15 m.
p.
h.
That means the average car rarely gets out of second gear.
Not only is that annoying in terms of journey times, second gear uses more fuel.
In recent times there's also been an increase in 'road rage' incidents - people getting abnormally annoyed by traffic while in their motor vehicles.
In fact, the term 'motor vehicle' was only coined as little as ten years ago.
Green issues have also come to the fore.
Up until a couple of years ago, the environment was a side issue.
But with most people accepting that there is overwhelming scientific evidence to the existence of harmful effects due to global warming, the issue has become mainstream.
In the upcoming American elections, no party can afford to ignore the issue.
But, let's face it, most of us are only affected by things when they hit our pocket.
And the cost of motoring has certainly done that.
Petrol prices in the U.
K.
have reached the equivalent of £5 a gallon, while normally cheap gasoline prices in the U.
S.
have scaled the unseen heights of $4 a gallon in places.
Before I made my decision to switch to an electric scooter for my commuting I decided to compare the costs.
My findings were revealing.
I worked out that, in my car, the running costs of commuting to work were £1460 ($2628).
Then I calculated the cost of going to work on an electric scooter.
That worked out to be £348 ($627), which is a saving of over £1000 or $1800.
I was surprised it was so much.
And, as a car costs even more to maintain than an electric scooter, it is probably a lot more.
So, in these troubled times, it's not surprising that people are looking at the way they travel.
As a guy who recently made the switch, I'm also enjoying going around on my scooter much more than I did in my car.
People in the west are wedded to their cars.
We spend as much time in them as we do in our houses.
But the cost of running them has sky rocketed and is doubling the sales of electric scooters and electric bikes.
This summer, Amazon reported a 600% rise in the sales of electric bikes.
Similarly many retailers of electric scooters are reporting 50-200% rises in sales.
So, are we falling out of love with our cars? Even before the credit crunch, commuting in cars, in major cities, was becoming troublesome.
The average speed of a journey in central London, for example, is now less than 15 m.
p.
h.
That means the average car rarely gets out of second gear.
Not only is that annoying in terms of journey times, second gear uses more fuel.
In recent times there's also been an increase in 'road rage' incidents - people getting abnormally annoyed by traffic while in their motor vehicles.
In fact, the term 'motor vehicle' was only coined as little as ten years ago.
Green issues have also come to the fore.
Up until a couple of years ago, the environment was a side issue.
But with most people accepting that there is overwhelming scientific evidence to the existence of harmful effects due to global warming, the issue has become mainstream.
In the upcoming American elections, no party can afford to ignore the issue.
But, let's face it, most of us are only affected by things when they hit our pocket.
And the cost of motoring has certainly done that.
Petrol prices in the U.
K.
have reached the equivalent of £5 a gallon, while normally cheap gasoline prices in the U.
S.
have scaled the unseen heights of $4 a gallon in places.
Before I made my decision to switch to an electric scooter for my commuting I decided to compare the costs.
My findings were revealing.
I worked out that, in my car, the running costs of commuting to work were £1460 ($2628).
Then I calculated the cost of going to work on an electric scooter.
That worked out to be £348 ($627), which is a saving of over £1000 or $1800.
I was surprised it was so much.
And, as a car costs even more to maintain than an electric scooter, it is probably a lot more.
So, in these troubled times, it's not surprising that people are looking at the way they travel.
As a guy who recently made the switch, I'm also enjoying going around on my scooter much more than I did in my car.
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