30% of Americans Would Consider Riding a Scooter

A survey conducted by the Piaggio Group (the guys who make Vespas) concluded that almost one in three Americans would be extremely or somewhat likely to consider using a motor scooter (like the new Piaggio MP3 pictured above) for their everyday transportation needs. Conducted during the first week in May 2006, the survey respondents indicated that they'd be willing to transfer 35% of their weekly mileage to a scooter. "Scooters" were defined in the survey as two-wheel vehicles that can reach 40-100mph, whose average cost is $2,000 or above. The survey found other strong factors motivating consumer's willingness to consider utilizing a scooter, including environmental concerns and overall cost savings. The survey found that 33% of Americans would be likely to use a scooter to reduce emission harmful to the environment, 35% would be likely to use a scooter to save $25.00 a week on gasoline. TreeHugger would prefer that potential scooter riders everywhere would consider some electric alternatives, though options like Vespa's new hybrid make us smile. Even sticking with gas-only scooters, the survey findings, when compared to Department of Energy national averages on fuel consumption, found that more extensive scooter use could save up to 14 million gallons of gas per day and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 324 million pounds per day. ::Piaggio Survey via ::Green Car Congress