Study Reveals Effects of Scooter Use to Reduce Emission and Fuel Consumption

In a recent survey conducted by the International Communications Research for the Piaggio Group Americas, it has been found out that majority of Americans are concerned about global warming. The study also revealed that more than one third of the one thousand respondents said that they are willing to use scooters as substitute for cars on a portion of their traveling.

Aside from that survey, the Piaggio Group also conducted a study to determine how much the use of scooters on major cities can impact the environment. The study revealed favorable result for the use of scooters.

With the help of Sam Schwartz PLLC, a transportation engineering and planning company, Piaggio found out the impact of the use of scooters on a major city like New York. The firm created a traffic model of downtown New York where they inputted data to simulate a number of scooters on New York’s streets. The company created a scenario where 20 percent of the vehicles are composed of scooters. After that, they were able to gather projection data if the scenario is put into practice.

The result of the study shows that if 20 percent of vehicles on New York City’s streets are scooters, traffic delay can be cut down by as much as 4.6 million hours per year. Translated for per person, that amounts to time savings of nearly 100 working hours. This means that the use of scooters on major cities will not only cut down fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission but also reduce the amount of time wasted due to traffic delays.

In terms of greenhouse gas reduction, the study found out that if 20 percent of the total number of vehicles in New York City, more than 26,000 tons or 52 million pounds of carbon dioxide emission will be cut down. This is in consonance with the 2.5 million gallons of fuel which can be saved annually under the same scenario.

The reduction in fuel consumption and therefore emission is due to the fact that motorcycles have considerably smaller engines compared to cars. Scooters are also lightweight which means that less fuel is needed to power it from one place to another. This shows that even if motors scooters are not equipped with performance enhancing aftermarket products like Superchips performance chip and they can still provide good fuel economy.

All in all, according to the survey, the total savings for New York City if 20 percent of vehicles roaming its streets are scooters would go and amount to more than $122 million every year in fuel and labor productivity.

Piaggio is one of the leading producers of two-wheeled vehicle like scooters and motorcycles. Its most famous scooter is the Vespa which has been widely accepted by Americans since its debut in the 1940’s. The Vespa’s popularity took off in the United States after it was used in the film Roman Holiday.

Aside from the Vespa, Piaggio is also the manufacturer of motorcycles under the world famous brands Aprilia and Moto Guzzi.