Swinton suggests a scooter can be quicker and cheaper

[StephenC]

Remarkable advertorial in a London local paper. Presumably this will appear elsewhere too.

Fancy an insurance company pushing people to switch to scooter commuting? No doubt holes can be picked in the article (like recommending a 50cc for starters...) but still - Full marks!

Here's the article:

For all London’s unmistakable charm and convenience, there is no getting round one drawback: commuting is no fun whatsoever. Not only are trains, tubes and buses crowded in the morning, and hardly any better later in the day, commuters have to pay through the nose for the privilege of having it shoved far too close to other people’s armpits.

There is another way. You might have thought they were a staple for mods, or holidays in the Far East, but some figures estimate a 200% growth in scooter ownership in the last couple of years. Investing in a scooter could save you money and your sanity, and with more cheap scooter insurance than ever available these days, now could be a perfect time to buy.

Costs of getting into London

Just think for a moment about what you currently spend on getting to work. Often these costs mount up gradually, but over the course of 52 weeks, thousands of pounds can flow out of your wallet. An annual Zones 1-3 travelcard will set you back £1,368, but that is a bargain compared to a daily peak travelcard, which is a whooping £10.60. Drivers are even worse off: the Congestion Charge sets them back £10 before they face exorbitant parking fees.

Vehicle costs

For £1,368 you can easily buy a scooter like the Piaggio Zip 50 which is perfectly nippy and manoeuvrable for city traffic, offers you plenty of storage for a briefcase or bag and is simple to ride. Flashier scooters cost more but their price compared to motorbikes, let alone cars is extremely manageable, with many dealers happy to offer finance deals that mean you don’t even have a diffuicult initial payment to contend with.

Running costs

Cheaper machines are also, as a rule, cheaper to service and keep running. Parts are often very affordable, especially for lower-capacity engines that are common with many of the models popular for inner-city driving. MOTs cost around £30, which is about 45% less than you can expect for a car, you can get road tax for as little as £15, and many will get over 100mpg. Likewise, insurance costs are far easier to stomach. Swinton motorbike insurance offers brilliant deals on motorbikes as well as scooters by comparing prices across their panel of insurers. What is more, kiss goodbye to the congestion charge or penalties for wandering into bus lanes, there are no such restrictions on scooters.

Saving time

Opting for a scooter won’t just lead to savings of a monetary kind. By using your own set of wheels, but one that won’t be held up by traffic or delays in finding a place to park, you’ll also shave time off your commute. Forget about waiting on a freezing platform or sweltering tube underground, get an extra ten minutes in bed, or with the family, by weaving through traffic and using bus lanes legally. Getting into work on your own terms, for less and quicker? What’s stopping you?

Advertorial
July 16, 2012
http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/default.as ... ank001.htm

[MrGrumpy]

Mostly sensible! Even a 50cc scoot might make sense if you are trying to commute round central London or crowded inner suburbs - getting above 30 isn't easy on anything I guess!

[JohnR93]

The London Evening Standard says the average speed in the congestion zone is about 6.5 MPH...
Little better than when London was chocker full with horse drawn vehicles. You might as well get yourself a pony!

[MrGrumpy]

The London Evening Standard says the average speed in the congestion zone is about 6.5 MPH...
Little better than when London was chocker full with horse drawn vehicles. You might as well get yourself a pony!

Yeah....though these days you'd have to clear up its Sh!t yourself!

[poldark]

What is more, kiss goodbye to the congestion charge or penalties for wandering into bus lanes, there are no such restrictions on scooters.

Whilst it's positive overall, as you say they've not got all the facts straight, I'll be more than happy to let them pay my fines for using any bus lane.

[ridinhigh]

bikes and scooters can use bus lanes in a lot of towns, i dont know about london tho

[poldark]

bikes and scooters can use bus lanes in a lot of towns, i dont know about london tho

Only "red route" ones and not even all of those (thanks Ealing council), all the plain ones you still can't, which gets very confusing and it is easy to think it's OK when it isn't.

[halfabusa]

most coppers don't seem to care during busy rush hours. I only got warned once by a motorcycle cop and that was when i tried passing the two motor cops from the left using a bus lane. He didn't even stop me though.

[StephenC]

In London, as well as almost all Red Routes, Westminster recently allowed us into almost all of their bus lanes too. Check the signs though!

Outside of London Cambridge, Bristol and Chelmsford let bikes into bus lanes too. Not sure about anywhere else.

[visfix]

Leeds and Bradford do not, and will fine you if caught.