Scooter buying tips

Have you ever considered using a scooter sometimes to help reduce the amount of money you spend on gas?

According to dictionary.com, a scooter is “a child’s vehicle that typically has two wheels with a low footboard between them, is steered by a handlebar, and is propelled by pushing one foot against the ground while resting the other on the footboard.Also called motor scooter. a similar but larger and heavier vehicle for adults, having a saddlelike seat mounted on the footboard and being propelled by a motor.

Here’s some tips for buying a motor scooter:

1. Where will you drive it? Will you only be driving it locally or will you be driving on more high traffic roads? This will help you determine how fast you need the scooter to go.
2. How much weight do you plan to carry? Will you be the only person on the scooter or do you plan to take a passenger? You need to consider weight in order to check the specifications of what wieghts your scooter can carry.
3. Which scooter should I buy? Much of this is personal opinion. To help you check out some of the manufacturers, we’ve listed some of the manufaccturers with links to their sites.
4. Drive safe! Before you start driving, take a motorcycle driver training course even if it isn’t required by law.
5. Get insurance just like yu buy insurance for your car
6. Consider getting an alarm for your scooter to protect it from being stolen.

As part of my continuing series of buying tips, we’ll share other scooter buying tips in the future. As promised, here’s a list of links to scooter manufacturers:

Aprilia Scooters

Piaggio Scooters

Honda Scooters

Suzuki Scooters

Vespa Scooters

Schwinn Scooters

Yamaha Scooters

Amtrak demand high

Several years ago my wife and I did something unusual- we decided to take the Amtrak train to New Orleans for some training for a new business we wanted to start. And I have to tell you the trip was one of the most relaxing, pleasant experiences we’ve had in long time. The pace was a lot slower than the hustle and bustle of taking the plane- or the wear and tear of driving to get there.

At the time we wondered why more folks didn’t take vacations by train. As we reflected on the state of the railroad business at the time, we talked about how the train business had dwindled down to a shadow of its former self. Why? Planes were faster, people liked the personal nature of driving in their own cars, and running a railroad was expensive for the operators since most trains never ran at capacity.

But the world has changed and demand for rail travel has expanded quickly because of gas prices. I predict the same for shipping. Shipping by rail I speculate is alot more energy efficient than by trucks.

Amtrak set records in May, both for the number of passengers it carried and for ticket revenues — all the more remarkable because May is not usually a strong travel month.

Here’s a recent news story about the railroad business, specifically Amtrak– With fuel prices going up, and consumers feeling the squeeze at the pump and at the airport, ridership for Amtrak is on the rise. That’s the good news. The bad news is that years of Republican attempts to drown Amtrak in the bathtub have resulted in it having difficulty to meet the growing demand.

But the railroad, and its suppliers, have shrunk so much, largely because of financial constraints, that they would have difficulty growing quickly to meet the demand.Many of the long-distance trains are already sold out for some days this summer. Want to take Amtrak’s daily Crescent train from New York to New Orleans? It is sold out on July 5, 6, 7 and 8. Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 5? The train is sold out, but Amtrak will sell you a bus ticket.

“We’re starting to bump up against our own capacity constraints,” said R. Clifford Black, a spokesman for Amtrak.The first point that needs to be made is that rail is a viable option. This is a lesson Europeans learned a long time ago. Portland has light rail, the Max, and Sound Transit is working to bring a viable light rail system to the Puget Sound Region. Both should be expanded. I’ve been to Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco and in every city I didn’t use a car, I used rail. Los Angeles even started putting in light rail before I moved here 6 years ago. If you want to be a “major-league” city, get yourself a light rail system.

The other point that needs to be made is that our Democratic-controlled Congress should expand funding for commuter rail because with the cost of oil not coming down anytime soon, the airlines are going to continue nickel and diming passengers until only the rich can fly. With additional fees for checked baggage and United Airlines’ recent announcement that it will require minimum stays, David Goldstein probably has it right:Better carry a shitload of quarters with you the next time you fly folks, just in case the plane loses cabin pressure and you have to feed the goddamn coin slot on the oxygen mask.

Can pay toilets on airliners be far off? And if people are paying to use the toilet, don’t you think they’ll feel entitled to smoke in the lavatories? Who really wants to travel that way?

With the state of our fossil-fuel based economy the way it is, it’s time to start thinking about other transit options, including building and/or expanding commuter rail. As we do that, perhaps Amtrak should be reconsidered as well.

And while we’re at it, can Sound Transit please have the Sounder stop at the Olympia station for all those commuters in Thurston County who work in Seattle?

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So Americans will probably spend more time on trains going to work or taking a vacation. What do you think?

Related articles below:

This Week at Amtrak 2008-04-18 - Also, the SAL route through Ocala is also substantially being upgraded to handle a higher level of freight trains, which should also have enough growth capacity to add regional passenger trains, too. This deal demonstrates how the … Capital Facilities, Transportation Goals, Objectives, and Policies - If projected funding is inadequate to finance needed transportation facilities, based on adopted level-of-service standards and forecasted growth, the City should explore one or more of the following options:. § Lower the LOS standard … Map A New Plan For Transportation - Altogether, light-rail lines carry 62000 passengers a day, 15% more than projected. Sandeep Bohra, 25, an electrical engineer who lives on Denver’s east side, gave up his car three months ago. He formerly drove an average of 60 miles a …

Gas prices and consumer behavior

A new study, “IRI Times & Trends Special Report: Competing in a Transforming Economy,” found 53 percent of consumers report that they are cooking from scratch more now than they were six months ago and about 59 percent say they are buying fewer single-serving products, and 55 percent say they are buying fewer prepared meals, indicating bargains are more important than convenience and health, according to MediaPost.

Isn’t that what you might expect? Heck, with gas prices as high as they are, consumers have to do something? Let me ask you a question- how has your behavior and attitude changed because of high gas prices? Also, what other changes do you think we can expect as gas prices go higher.

Click here for the complete IRI story from Media Post Marketing Daily

Irrational about gas?

I stopped by a nearb outdoor sporting goods supplier’s store yesterday to get my car outfitted to carry my sailboat and I began to speak with the owner. He pointed out that some folks are now towing their boats with a motorcycle instead of a van to save money. In fact companies are making boat trailers exactly for the reason of allowing motorcycle towing.

This same store owner at the store called Helisport added something he was doing about the high price of gas. He told me he had adapted his car engine to give him 60 miles a gallon. I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to get the details but his approach about the gas price got me to thinking about how other folks are dealing with the gas crisis.

I  learned today from CNN Money that folks in California were driving to Mexico to get cheaper gas even though if one considers lost time and the wear and tear on the car it didn’t make sense. Another story was told about how people are trading in their SUVs less than three years old even though SUV resale value is extremely low- another irrational gas decision.

On the CNN Money show today, CNN’s guest Daniele Arriele, behavioral ecomomist, spoke about irrational behavior on the part of consumers as it relates to money. He recently published a book called “Predictably Irrational“. (By the way, you can find an interview with Arriele from Amazon, by clicking here.

In thinking about how you are reacting about gas prices and how your friends have been acting, share some stories and tell me if you think the stories are rational or not.

See a related story from the Fayetteville NC observer where Arriele is interviewed about gas prices. In this article, Arrelle says he doesn’t see comsumers making major changes because of gas prices.

Energy Manhattan project?

Why aren’t we treating the high priced gas crisis like we treated the need to develop the A bomb during World War II? The Manhattan project was an all out effort by the government and private industry to develop the atomic bomb…we did it in record time and the course of history was changed forever!

We put a man on the moon because Kennedy inspired us and dedicated talented folks made it happen even though some people laughed and said it couldn’t happen…Why the hell don’t we have a Manhattan like project going on at this very moment but for alternative energy? The lack of an effort like this makes me mad as hell!…Mad for the sake of the security of this country…mad about what these high prices are doing to our economy and the people on tight budgets who are struggling now because of these prices.

Before we decide on who will be President, we should demand that the candidate we choose commit to an alternative energy Manhattan project…and not just rhetoric but a comprehensive detailed plan for how to make it happen!

Here’s a thought- a group of bright…no… brilliant minds from multiple disciplines from private industry should develop a written position piece and proposed plan for the Manhattan project starting right now.

Some say we should begin drilling in more places now to give oil prices some relief…If this is our only alternative, perhaps we should…but only as an interim measure. We need a longer term comprehensive Manhattan type project that is more environmentally friendly but with limited impact on our free enterprise system.

Why don’t we have the Oil Manhattan Project? Is it too controversial for our politicians? Are lobbying groups blocking this? Has no leader in business or government suggested this idea? Is the public not smart enough to demand that a project like this begin now? What do you think???

Oil companies out of business?

You probably can’t imagine any possibility of any oil company going out of business but I think it could happen and let me tell you why….The railroads made the mistake of thinking they were in the railroad business instead of the transportation business and that one thought cost them greatly…The Swiss watch companies thought they were in the business of only building fine precision watches with gears…in fact they were approached by the digital watch inventor and associated start up companies to take on the digital line of watches and they refused to consider becoming part of the digital watch trend. Guess what happened? Because of the limited view of their business, the Swiss watch industry contracted to only serving a very small segment of the total watch market…There are many business stories like these where an industry or companies within it had a limited view of their business and suffered as a result.

I don’t know how the oil companies have defined their business. I don’t know if they only have defined their business in terms of drilling or refining oil or not…or if they have defined their business as the energy business as opposed to just the oil business.

I do know this—Oil is not an infinite resource. Alternative energy sources will expand and innovations in alternative fuel will move forward at a more rapid pace. Oil companies hear this– if you haven’t defined your business more broadly, you should. Imagine what the public image of you would be if they learned you were serious and investing big dollars in cheaper alternative energy…imagine how you would better insure your companies survival…..

Perhaps I’m wrong and the oil industry doesn’t have to worry about supplies. Read the excerpt below:

There’sa whole ocean of oil out there…

Cambridge Energy Research Associates said in a report that the world has some 3.74 trillion barrels of oil left — enough to last 122 years at current consumption rates and triple the amount estimated by “peak oil” theorists. …

Shrinking take home pay and new trends

What gas prices are doing to take home pay makes a person want to cry! A member of The Telework Consortium summed up the whole situation this way- At $4 a gallon gas, it would take an employee earning $65,000 per year who commutes 40 miles round trip per day 2 /12 months to pay for commuting. That is twelve weeks and six days of his/her take home pay just to pay for the cost of daily commuting!

Although I’m not aware of the sociological and economic changes which have occurred to countries who have gone through the rocketing gas price experience we’ve gone through, I think we’ll see many changes in our society. I would guess some of these changes will include:

- More use of technology such as audio and video conferencing to replace commuting to work and taking business trips. As technology costs continue to drop and gas prices continue to rise, this trend is assured to happen.

- Shorter vacations, less vacations and people vacationing at home. ABC news recently used the term “staycations.”

-Increased use of mass transit

- A possible change in the infrastructure/funding of our highway system, the best system in the world! Can we continue to use tolls to support as much for road maintenance.

- Growth of more local retailing possibly. We all know the trend that occurred when the major national chains put the local, small retailer out of business. Will the tide change now and favor more local retailers now that gas costs so much?

- Increased use of the Internet for shopping. Ecommerce on the net is already growing substantially. I believe we’ll see this growth begin to move at warp speed as folks drive less.

-Families spending more time together, a good development if it happens. Author Faith Popcorn many years ago forecasted a trend called cocooning- people withdrawing more and spending time at home. I think we’ll see this.

-Growth in sales of home entertainment centers and other products and services built around the home to replace services which would normally be out of the home.

The examples I’ve given are the more obvious ones. I think there will be alot of less obvious, more subtle changes in how we will that may surprise all of us. What do you think? What changes do you think we’ll see?

For related stories, click below:

New merchant figures high gas prices may fuel his grocery business past bigger competition

High Gas Prices Making Vacations More Expensive - Rising gas prices have made travel almost prohibitive and you can easily run up a huge bill just filling your tank. Summer is the time to kick back and relax, not worry about how much you’re going to have to spend just to have fun. … Hamptons Doom and Gloom - How does a local family with a breadwinner making $40000 per year, or $800 per week, for example, with take-home pay of less than $600 per week pay for the escalating costs of health care and food – then pay $100 of that for gas just to … Why gas prices hurt retention - The biggest advantage of the transit benefit is that it has the same effect as a small pay raise, without an actual salary increase. An employee earning $45000 per year, who incurs $115 per month in mass transit expenses lifts take-home … Observations on ExxonMobil - It isn’t just the price of gasoline so you can run the family car. The cost of all goods transported in this country rise as a result of rising gas prices. That means food to the market, clothes to the store, etc, etc, etc… …