ELECTRIC - bikes scooters cars

After our last story, comparing the cost of changing my commuting habits from the train and car to an electric scooter, people have contacted me, asking me to compare the cost of running an electric scooter with that of a traditional gasoline/petrol scooter.

So here goes.

First of all let’s assume all other things are equal, such as the cost of insurance and maintenance. We’re just going to consider the actual prices of getting an electric scooter and a gasoline/petrol scooter from A to B. We’ll also compare prices in both the U.S.A and the U.K.

Electric Scooter v Gasoline Scooter In The U.S.A.

Let’s assume we do 120 miles per week on our scooters. The current average price of gasoline, as I write, is round about $3.30 a gallon. Our 50cc gasoline scooter does an average of 90 miles per gallon. So, over the course of a year, the cost of the gasoline scooter is $211.20

Our electric scooter does the same 120 miles a week. It costs $0.80 per mile in electricity. For a year of electric scooting, that works out at $46.08

So the electric scooter wins by $165.12

Electric Scooter v Petrol Scooter In The U.K.

Well, the bad news for people in the U.K. is that both our electricity and our petrol costs a lot more than it does in the States. Here are the results.

The current price of petrol averages around £1.09 per litre, which is the equivalent of £4.40 per gallon. Wow. So, with our petrol scooter doing 90 miles to the gallon, over a year doing 120 miles per week, that works out at £316.80.

For our electric scooter, doing the same mileage, costing 1p per mile in charging, it works out, per year, at £28.80.

So, with an electric scooter you save £288.

I hope that helps.