Green Transporter electric and hybrid scooters

From oceanside town of Encinitas, California comes not only a fleet of electric scooters (including the Venice, above), but what is promised to be among the first production hybrid scooters to hit the streets.

First, the electrics. Green Transporter has a line of six electric scooters that have a range of about 30-40 miles at a maximum of 20 mph, and have a charging time of 2-6 hours. Cost ranges between $691 and $1,199 (the Venice above is the priciest one), which means that at today’s gas prices, it should pay for itself in like… I don’t know, about a week or so depending on where you live. One of the models is an electric moped, the E-Bike ($799), that has a range of 45 miles if you also use the pedals to move yourself along.

The hybrid “PI” (plug in) models

The Milan PI, shown here on the left, has a top speed when running under electric power is 22 mph, and over that, it runs on gas power up to 45 mph on its 50cc 4-stroke gas motor. Effectively, when running under electric power, it gets 300 miles per gallon. Using gas, 80 mpg. The electric motor is rated as a 500 watt 36v. It has a retail cost of $2,295.

The Expresso PI makes the same claims, but has that sporty scooter look rather than the Milan’s retroish influence.

Call the company if you’re interested in a product, because ordering through its site doesn’t work. It’s all through Google Checkout, but if you try to put one in your cart, it says the company no longer accepts payments through Google.

Athens-Clarke, GA police go green with an electric scooter

According to the The Athens Banner-Herald, the Athens-Clarke Police Department announced this week that they have added a T3 Law Enforcement electric scooter to its fleet of police vehicles, along with four hybrid sedans. While not the typical step-through we know and love, the T3 is intriguing because of its focus on law enforcment and the features available for specialized use. It’s also made in the USA, according to the site. The use of one T3, it states, equals an “average annual savings of $23,000 to $30,000 per gasoline-powered vehicle per year.”

hybrid scooter discussion at ScooterCommunity.com.au

Scooter Community logoI found an active discussion on the Scooter Community (Australia) forum about hybrid scooters, including whether or not they are a viable energy alternative, how much they’ll cost to run, and if they truly help shrink a rider’s carbon footprint. Take a look here.

BMW Isetta 300 sighting

As I drove into my driveway today, I noticed someone – or something – was parked in my parking spot. My neighbor was talking to Andy, owner of this beautiful little BMW Isetta 300. I totally forgot to ask the year, because I got too busy talking about the joys of riding a scooter or other high-mileage vehicle like this super little deal. Thanks to Andy for letting me take photos of his microcar wonder.

Do you own big oil?

From EnergyTomorrow.org:

If you’re wondering who owns “Big Oil,” chances are good the answer is “you do.”

If you have a mutual fund account, and 55 million U.S. households do, there’s a good chance it invests in oil and natural gas stocks. If you have an IRA or personal retirement account, and 45 million U.S households do, there’s a good chance it invests in energy stocks.

Read the entire article.

Donald Rumsfeld buys a scooter

Well, we may never know why, but according to Eoin over at the Christian Science Monitor, who quotes Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin over at the Examiner, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently bought a Vespa LXV. Do you think he’s feeling the pinch at the gas pump, or feeling worried about carbon emissions? I think the answer will remain a known unknown (or would that be an unknown unknown?).

report on the International Energy Agency report

From Reuters:

IEA urges $45 trln “energy revolution” to halve CO2

World governments must quickly start a $45 trillion “energy technology revolution” that could drive up the cost of producing carbon ten-fold, or risk emissions surging by 2050, the West’s energy watchdog warned on Friday.

The world would need to build dozens of nuclear power plants a year and bury carbon emitted from dozens more gas and coal plants, plus cutting the carbon intensity of cars, trucks, buses and planes eightfold, to halve emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.

Read the rest of the article on the Reuter’s web site.

How to save $61,000,000 in your town’s light rail commuter plan


Learn more about the Vespa Purchase Plan here.

free mpg calculator for non-commercial websites

Webwinder Calculators offers a free version of its MPG calculator that you can add to your own web site. Try it out here, and get the code here.

A new Ape in town: Piaggio to concentrate on hybrid vehicle

According to the Reuters news service, Italian scooter maker Piaggio & C SpA cut its sales forecast “in a revision of its business plan” today, due to the slower economy and subsequent weaker sales.

Piaggio ApeThe report of weaker sales is in high contrast to the many reports in the press now of record scooter sales. Their numbers may be due to Piaggio’s flagship scooter line, Vespa, high price points in comparison to other brands of scooters.

However, in green news, Piaggio announced plans to continue its work on development of a four-wheel hybrid vehicle.

“Despite the global downturn, Piaggio said it had kept working on the development of new models, such as a four-wheel vehicle with a hybrid engine.

“Based on a three- and four-wheel light commercial vehicle made by Piaggio called the Ape — Italian for ‘bee’ — it would be big enough for three people to drive around town.”





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