Modern Vespa

I didn't want to hijack the thread that gave me this idea.

Anyway, here's my commute times here in San Diego - this is an 11.5 mile commute (slightly shorter on the freeway in the car).

1. Car - 15 minutes door to door. As long as I don't get slammed on the way home leaving the base it's the same both ways. I ONLY drive the car if I cannot haul whatever I need to on the scoot/bike.

2. Scooter - 25-30 minutes each way - surface streets (there are some really crazy freeway drivers here so no scoot on the freeway for me). I scoot monday/wed/fri.

3. Bicycle - 45 minutes to/45-60 minutes from - surface streets again - I do this tues/thurs.

So - it ALWAYS takes me longer to scoot or take the bike - but that's my preferred method. I know there are scooter folks here who ride the freeways - please stay safe! I also would be able to cut my scooter commute to the same as the car commute if I took the freeway - choice for me is safety.

Bottom line - my preferred method of commuting is the least impact on the environment and best for me (bicycling is better for me ).

Surface streets for me with car or scoot (too lazy to bike). The scooter allows me to take alternate routes easily if traffic backs up, but the time is essentially the same (10-15 minutes) with car or scoot. Boy, the scooter sure FEELS faster, though!

Although the freeway may *feel* less safe than surface streets, I've heard and also believe, that surface streets are actually more dangerous than freeways. The reason is mostly because on surface streets you have intersections. Intersections are probably the most dangerous things for us on two wheels. Think about it, you have on-coming traffic with no concrete divider, cars making left turns in front of you, wackos making left turns from the right lane or vice-versa... then, you have driveways and parked cars leaving spaces while another car rushes to grab that parking spot, etc., etc... you get the picture. In comparison, the freeways are a haven of safety. Sure, you're going faster, but you don't have to worry about people turning in front of you or opposing traffic. You just have to stay our of people's blind spots, don't follow too closely, always have an out (i.e. know which lane to change to quickly if you have to), etc.

Yeah, the freeway may be a little scarier, but don't let that fool you into thinking that surface streets are safer.

Be careful out there

With lane-splitting in CA both the Ducati and the Vespa are way faster than a car. My car has a huge pile of pine needles sitting on it, from disuse.

Ducati obviously has a higher top speed, within limits (Hi officer!) but the Vespa's easier to lane split, so I think it is a wash.

Really??? I actually prefer lane splitting on my 599. Narrower.

now only if my carpal tunnel didn't act up so much dealing with the frickin' clutch.

My commute times (all surface streets, includes the hunt for parking):

Scooter: 30 minutes

Car: 45 minutes

Muni N-Judah (streetcar): 1 hour or more

The monster bars are a bit wider, plus I have CRG mirrors on both ends, so it ends up being kind of wide. Though at least with the CRGs, if you thwack a mirror they fold in.

ah yes, the bar end mirrors. That plus wider bars could result in... problems...

my commute is about 20km (12 miles) each way, 16 miles each way if i take the north circular (basically the 'freeway').

i've taken a car once, it took nearly 2 hours, most of it spent waiting in traffic queues and driving around in circles trying to find a parking space. not an option. public transit can take as little as an hour and 15 minutes but that's on a good day. a very very good day. on a bad day it can take as much as 3 hours one way, most of that time spent rammed into an overcrowded train carriage or waiting on a windswept platform. it also involves a bus and two different tube lines, OR two different trains. not an option.

the scoot takes between 45 minutes and an hour, it's fun, and i feel like i'm in control of when i get home. no contest.

8 mile ride:

-Car: anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. 20 minutes during August (when everyone is out of town) and up to 120 minutes in December. Average is 40 minutes. Time of day doesn't matter much unless it's before 7am and after 9pm.

-Scoot: 20-30 minutes. Not much variation due to lane splitting.

It's a no brainer really, as long as you stay alert the whole time. A billion other scooters are always zinging by in addition to the cars stuck in traffic that make crazy moves without warning.

15km Commute, suburbs and some motorway.

Car 45mins - 1 hour+
Scooter 15 -20 mins (Priceless)
Bike 45 mins incl 20 min ferry ride.
Bus 2 days no really, it just isn't worth considering!!!

My commute through on the scooter in the city is 5 minutes shorter to and from work compared with the car.

If I go the shortest route possible the Vespa is faster because I can park ten feet from my office building. The truck has to go in a parking garage a quarter mile away.

The Vespa is often a longer commute though because I don't always go the short route and wander around a bit before getting to work.

The short route is 6 miles--- 15 minutes or so. Some wandering routes to work are 45 minutes.

I have a 25-27 km commute (depends on route).

Scooter: 25 to 35 minutes (depending on route) in the early (5:30 am) morning 45-60 home. No "lane-splitting" allowed, but the scooter has maximum agility to get through clots of stupid people.

Car: 20 to 25 in the morning, 60 home. Way too much gas used and I get home more stressed than I was at work!!

Bicycle: 2 hours each way...and it almost killed me!

Public transit - which I did for years - 1 hr 15 minutes each way absolute best time. 1 hr 30 typical and increasing...which is why I bought the scooter.

My commute is 11 miles each way.

Car = 45 minutes (unless there's a crash or 'incident' in which case 2 hours

Bicycle = 55 minutes

Folding bicycle and train = 30 minutes (but travel times are dictated by the train time-table.)

Train and tube = 1 hour

Scooter = 30 minutes


I enjoy the scooter option the most, but my clothes fit better when I use one of the cycling options.

Commute: 13 miles

Bicycling: I could do it easliy, but they don't let contractors use the shower facilities. If I didn't ride fast, it would take forever.

Driving: All highway, 15-20 minutes, but 30+ minutes if there's construction or an accident (and right now they're rebuilding a huge highway intersection that's going to take years).

Scooting: Haven't done it yet, because I live in the city and work in the 'burbs (go figure), and this 'burb is across a very wide river plain and no streets have bridges across it--only highways cross it. The most direct route is on a 70 mph highway, and I'm not comfortable on that with a 150cc scoot.

But every day I'm more and more tempted to go out of my way so I can scoot to work.

the scooter is faster than the car.... period.

even on the motorway with me at the handlebars.

well, its faster than a peugeot 106 from manchester to middlebrough!!

Commute to the Loop is 3 miles give or take, all surface streets and tons o' lights.

Scooter, door-door: 15 minutes.
Car: never drive due to parking costs downtown
Cab: If I can find one in my neighborhood? 15 minutes.
L: 20-30 minutes depending on the day.
Red cape and blue tights: 1.2 seconds but they kinda bunch up "down there" and I prefer to ride the scoot.

My commute is 17 miles. In the car up to an hour because of traffic. On the scooter I can use the carpool lane on the freeway, as little as 20 minutes. [I hit all 7 lights green] I hate the winter when I go back to the car.

I shouldn't admit this, but the car is faster, but I couldn't say by how much.

The reason it's faster is that I *never* go directly from point A to point B on the scooters, there is too much to see along the way, however, I'm generally in a much better mood when I get to point B on the scooter despite it taking longer. Go figure

I have a 7 mile commute

Car-from 15 to 20 minutes
Scooter-15 minutes with little variation.

I'm much more willing and able to head down a side street to avoid traffic, etc and I can squeeze by cars waiting to make a left turn, so the scooter is no faster on a good day and about 5 minutes faster on a bad day.

By foot 30seconds.
Upstairs to downstairs.
In Georgia we have to follow the same rules
of the road as the cars, so it should make very
little difference.

16 miles by streets, 19 by highway.

Highway with car: 22 min - 1:30 depending on traffic
Surface roads, car or scooter: 35 minutes
Public Transportation: 1:30 as I'd have to ride all the way into the city and then back out to the northern edge where I work.

The scoot on the highway wouldn't buy me much since we can't lane split here.

Being there's basically 2 surface street routes (Both by different bridges) and one freeway overpass over the river into downtown, it takes almost the same amount of time.

Because of lane splitting I can shave off a good 5 min or so total, possibly more depending on the time of commute and amount of traffic.

Takes approx 25-30 minutes by car. Scooter take 20-25 minutes. Pedal bike takes 30-45 (I ride slow).

Ditto. I can park much closer than I can with my truck. Actually, the freeway takes longer than surface streets because we have those %$@# metering lights on the freeway.

I'm lucky enough to work from home. So it takes longer to ride the scoot because I have to walk to the garage first.

Fastest: Honda 599
2nd fastest, but most boring/numbing: car
Slowest, but most enjoyable: Vespa LX150

Agree with the lane splitting on the 599, but when it comes to filtering at intersections where my direction is stopped, I prefer the clutchless, lighter weight Vespa.

Ah, if we could only see this here in the States. I saw a scooter far away from me this morning, otherwise just cars and a couple of motorcycles. I often think it would be cool to see Silicon Valley full of scooters buzzing into work.

It takes me 20-30 minutes to get to work on the scooter at any time of day.

The car will take me between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on when I go and whether I take the scooter route or the freeway.

The public transit is over an hour, with a transfer.

3 blocks.

5 minutes on foot.

In a paralleled universe...

Rex on scooter is just strapping on his helmet, gloves, and putting his riding jacket on.
Rex on SUV has just left the garage and slow approaching the first traffic light.

Rex on scooter is just leaving the garage.
Rex on SUV has just approached the third traffic light.

Rex on scooter lane splits, approaches the front of the line and passes Rex on SUV at the fourth traffic light.
Rex on SUV sits behind a few cars that slowly accelerates and enters the freeway.

Rex on scooter has been on the freeway and approaches the exit route.
Rex on SUV cruises with other cagers.

Rex on scooter parks at the garage at work and starts to remove his riding gear.
Rex on SUV has just exited the freeway and enters the garage at work.

Rex on scooter is in an elevator headed to the 9th floor.
Rex on SUV exits his SUV, swings the door close and arms the alarm.

So, Rex on scooter is (slightly) faster.

Only works if you sing the Vespa song

if my commute wasn't uphill both ways (seriously, it's all 1-way streets), then I'd prolly have a bicycle to tool around with. Although the idea scares the bejesus out of me with how people are to bicycle riders, my legs could use some conditioning.
I haven't had need for a car much at all, and I have access if I need it. Freeway in SD is indeed scary, so I'd be sticking to surface streets too. I'm pretty much with you on it all....just dont cycle much.

If you mean South Dakota, boy is that right! High speeds and high winds!!!

My commute is 15 miles each way and takes just over half an hour. I think the freeway plus side streets would probably take the same amount of time as my regular route, but the regular route is sooooo much fun. It's a twisty hill road that doesn't see a lot of traffic, so I usually have the road to myself.

I didnt read all the post so forgive if I repeat.

Personally, I dont think surface streets are safer than the freeway, quite opposite for me. The risk is higher on the streets just the speeds are higher on the freeway. But everyone is going the same direction.

So to answer your question, I commute 22 miles which is about 20-21 pure freeway driving. If you remove traffic as a variable, the scooter takes longer but thats because I have to prep more for the ride than just hopping in the car and going. When traffic is added, the scooter saves me 1/2 hour or more easily in afternoon traffic.

Lots of great replies - love it

Those of you who work from home

the rest

I hear you about the freeway - I used to ride surface to keep the wife happy - now I do it because I see how 'they' drive in the freeways here - it really seems like people in San Diego pay more attention on the surface streets - plus - you don't get that moron going 100mph trying to make his own lane like you can get occasionally on the freeway........

By cage: about 4 minutes
By scoot: about 4 minutes
I live 2 miles from work. From the driveway, it's left-left-left-right. One flashing red light and one regular light in the morning. If I catch a green at the light, time drops to about 3 minutes. Going home is about the same, but I have one additional stop sign. At the lights, I can turn right on red, so that's just two stop-n-go's.

Don't three lefts and a right = one right?

LONDON:

From the suburbs, Zone 4 to the City of London, which is nine miles, five on a freeway, an hour by car in rush hour. Cost one gallon of fuel £4, £4 per hour parking and £8 congestion charge.

By GTSie, one quart/litre of fuel £1, no congestion charge and 22- 25 minutes regardless.

NO CONTEST!!!

5 minutes in the cage. 10 Minutes of bliss by scooter. 8)