I gave up my car and started taking the bus about six years ago in an effort to be more environmentally-minded. After about four months I finally became accustomed to transit, and its schedules.
One thing about using transit though is how to best use the waiting times for the bus, between transfers or while on the train taking that 20 minute ride. Like so many other people, I listen to music and read.
Taking transit quickly resulted in a more stress-reduced lifestyle. With the elimination of traffic-related stress, and more money in my pocket (due to the lack of traffic tickets, parking tickets, parking charges, gasoline fill ups, insurance costs and auto repairs) I soon believed my choice to dump the auto was a sound one.
But there comes a time in every mans life when convenience plays a more important role than the use of transit, which, as everyone knows, is anything but convenient. But what was the alternative?
After I researched what green alternatives were available, I finally found the answer: an electric scooter! No license or insurance required, no parking problems, no gasoline to buy and no monthly maintenance required. Just plug it in at night, and drive away at a respectable 32 km/h in the morning.
My new electric scooter gets a 50 km range on one charge, enough to get me to work and back home twice before re-charging. Zipping in, out, around and avoiding downtown traffic is perhaps its greatest advantage. And its certainly faster, more convenient and fun than a bus.
While I still cycle, I would recommend an electric bike or scooter to anyone who commutes daily under 35 km, or for a person looking for a way to buzz around the neighborhood on errands.
So I invite all readers to test drive an electric vehicle. It may not replace your gasoline-powered transportation, but it does offer a fun and money-saving alternative for short trips.
