ScooteringUSA

Charles Karel Bouley, an environmental blogger at Huffington Post, traded in his car for two Piaggio scooters last summer: the MP3 250 and the MP3 500. Fairly new on the road, both scooters are part of a new ‘trike’ family of vehicles that have the double wheels in front and the single wheel in back for easier maneuverability in city driving. Bouley used the MP3 250 for in town and the MP3 500 for longer trips. An admitted cycle-phobic, he says he was wary at first but committed to saving money and lowering his carbon footprint drastically.

Bouley notes that he has watched people from 16 to 60 ride the MP3 250 with no problems. He has so far spent only $150 on gasoline since June of 2008. (Many families with two SUVs spent that much on gas in a single week last summer, when price neared $4.50 per gallon.) Bouley states that fully insuring both vehicles costs less than $1,000 per year, far less than what a subcompact import car would cost to insure. While Bouley lives in Southern California, where a scooter will do just fine year round, even residents of colder states will see substantial savings over an auto the first year.