Why I love my scooter

Taking the plunge and buying a scooter in today’s trying economic market was probably one of the best things I’ve done.

I used to own a motorbike, but I sold it last year because the repayments and insurance were getting a bit much and I really wasn’t riding it as much as I should have.

But, the steadily-increasing fuel price in South Africa (which is now at record high levels) and the traffic jams that result from more frequent power-outages as a result of load shedding, compelled me to find a cheaper and more convenient mode of transport.

My daily commute takes me from Roodepoort to Rivonia and back – a trip that can take up to an hour and 40 minutes one-way if I leave in peak traffic.

This, as you can imagine, has the potential to mess my day up entirely because I find myself having to get up much earlier in the morning to fit in my gym routine and getting to bed later in the evenings because it’s 6:30 PM before I get home and there’s still cooking and chores to do when I arrive.

And the fact that the corporate world demands your full 8.5 hours per day means that there’s no time for a personal life if you spend nearly 3 hours of your day in traffic.

But I have reached the proverbial “light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel” and it’s taken the form of my new Kymco People S 200 scooter.

It’s economical (25km/litre) – taking a little less than R50 to fill – and it’s small enough to zip in and out of sluggish traffic – reducing my 90 minute commute to just over 30 minutes in both directions.

You’ll also be surprised at how nippy scooters actually are. My particular scooter has a 200cc engine and is more than capable of holding its own on the hightway.

As a result I can wake up later, still make it to gym, get to work by 8AM, get home at a reasonable time in the afternoon and actually kick back and enjoy some TV or reading before I start cooking and winding down for the evening.

It’s definitely the way to go. With the horrendous petrol price and ever-worsening traffic chaos on Johannesburg’s roads, you’d be stupid not to consider a scooter.

Obviously there are safety concerns when riding two wheels on South African roads, particularly when minibus taxis are concerned. But considering the improvement in the overall quality of life I’ve experienced, it’s a risk worth taking.

For anywhere between as little as R5,000 and about R20,000, scooters are by far the country’s most economical mode of transport. Besides, which, the savings in petrol and running costs alone mean that the scooter will end up paying for itself fairly quickly.

And I’m not alone. Already I’ve noticed a marked increase in the number of scooters and motorcycles on Johannesburg’s roads.

The sales guy, who I bought my scooter from, said that since the first hefty petrol price increase of 2008, his sales have increased quite substantially and he’s never been this busy.

It’s a good time to consider a scooter or motorcycle. Petrol’s not going to come down and traffic jams are not going to go away either – so before scooter retailers catch on and begin to hike their prices to capitalise on higher demand.

A rise in Bike and scooter sales?

As more South Africans come to grips with the absolute chaos that is being caused by the lack of sufficient electricity capacity in the country and rolling blackouts, there is an increasingly strong case for people to ditch their cars in favour of bikes and scooters to avoid the traffic jams associated with what has become an everyday life – load-shedding.

They are by no means that safest mode of transport, given the terrible manner in which South Africans drive (particularly min-bus taxis and rich-kids in SUVs), but their fuel efficiency and their ability to weave in and out of stand-still traffic make then a very very attractive investment.

Heck, using them on the highway is also a possibility as many highways in SA tend to move at snail’s pace during rush hours.

The cost of fuel in South Africa nowadays is reason enough to spend most of your travelling time on a Bike or scooter. And at the price-point (between R7,000 and R15,000), even financing a scooter over 54 months will cost little over R150 – R300 per month – making it the perfect wheels for even the most cash-strapped South African.

For the more affluent amongst us, put it on your credit card and pay it off over 12 months, or finance it over 24/36 months (At around R400 per month) and you’ll avoid the wrath of the reserve bank minister when he decides to continue the interest rate carnage.

The bottom line is that South Africans are going to lose their minds if they have to sit in four hours of traffic a day and hopefully, with enough of them on the roads, there may be a more favourable environment for bikes and scooters to keep SA on the roads.

(Ed’s note: I for one am going to buy a scooter this week!)