E scooter or petrol scooter

[eddieo]

My daughter has got in on a degree course at the LSE next year. she is 18 and has passed her car driving license. what does she have to do license wise to ride a scooter? is an E scooter better? Do you pay congestion charge and for parking on either a petrol or electric version? I know the E scooters are tax exempt....

any recommendations please? or should she just get a cheap generic petrol scooter.

saw some with removable lithium batteries (easier to charge when she is in UNI accommodation) But they were £2.500 upwards(

 

[carpetbagger]

lend her your wisper

 

[tillson]

For a scooter, I would say petrol. They do the job better and are cheaper.

 

[flecc]

E-scooters are exempt from the congestion charge, and can also take advantage of free charging points in some London locations. The lead acid battery ones are the bargains, starting from those currently on offer at £399 for an unknown and £689 for a known brand (e-go), they are usually about £1000. They are all restricted to 30 mph so suitable for anyone to take up. Most makes claim up to 40 miles range, but think in terms of more like 25 to 30 miles on new batteries, or a bit less in hilly areas. They are very slow on steeper hills, sometimes reduced to as low as 10 mph.

Both e and petrol versions have the same licence needs for restricted models. A car licence gained before 1st February 2001 qualifies automatically, for everyone else the CBT (compulsory basic training) is necessary and the driving test must be taken and passed within two years.

Petrol scooters are better performers on hills due to lower weight and have no range limitations, so are more universal. Long term they can be cheaper to run since there are no batteries to renew, but there's no halo wearing with them.
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[Footie]

Your daughter would have to complete a CBT course to ride an electric scooter or the petrol variant .... having just passed her car test does she want to go down that road again?
If she is lodging close to the University (and depending on the finances) I would have thought a folding electric bike would be a good choice especially where space is limited. Alternatively if space is not an issue then something light (like a Wisper) would probably do the job .... and no congestion charges
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[eddieo]

I just looked and was under the impression that all scooters were congestion charge excempt....

would an e bike be parking exempt? for instance when you see motorbikes and scooters parked in bays in the west end do they pay??

I dont think the cheap ebike would be practical as she would have to carry the battery's upstairs to her digs to charge probably daily.......


3 wispers in the family there's a thought......But impractical as she will want to visit home (s/w london) and her part time job, so will need a little more power and speed.

 

[flecc]

Motorcycles and scooters are going to have to pay for parking in Westminster, and may already be doing so. Whether other boroughs will follow suit isn't known.

e-bikes are bicycles as far as the law is concerned so don't have to pay any parking charges. They can use cycle racks and can legally be locked to parking meter posts, though motorists don't take kindly to that for obvious reasons. There's no right to lock to street furniture or railings, but many do it anyway, though there's a risk in doing that.

All two wheelers are congestion charge exempt, motorcycles as well.
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[Alex728]

TBH given the state of cities today if it were my 18 year old daughter despite my environmental concerns, if she has a driving license I'd actually try and find the money for her to afford a car, particularly if she ends up having digs in a less than pleasant area of London, and/or her job involves lone travel in more outlying areas especially after the hours of darkness...

my younger sister remained in Reading and she drives everywhere for work, leisure etc - she is otherwise quite eco-concious - and this is for reasons of personal safety and independence!

Although Reading isn't quite as bad as London there have been some very nasty incidents against lone women in recent years, and my sisters friends have been harrassed and stalked etc by strangers so I don't blame her one bit for driving, I'd rather she had her independence and I blame the misogynistic scum what infest this nation for the potential environmental damage, rather than young women for "choosing" to drive. Only this summer the Grauniad ran a long article on the amount of harrasment female cyclists were experiencing in the capital and of course metpol is so overloaded with dealing with genuine real crime (shootings/stabbings/rapes) they hardly have any time to deal with these crimes.

I've also been told by several young ladies/women who both drive and cycle who say they enjoy cycling but feel doubly unsafe on two wheels, as much from gender related harrasment as from the usual road safety issues, including incidents where a girl has tried to stop idiots in a car from groping her / pinching her behind and has been shoved off her bike into the gutter as a reprisal whilst the scum drive off...

A lot of "right on" ladies on places like debates with George Monbiot have also pointed out this "elephant in the room" a fair few times in debates over why cycling tends to be a more male dominated pursuit..

OK I expect cycling or using public transport in broad daylight and well watched or "better" areas is probably perfectly safe in London but it still ends up with people having to modify their behaviour (handing a victory to the scum) and I won't begrudge a young lady using four wheels if she feels safer (that is provided of course she drives safely too which I'm sure eddios daughter does, same as my sister..)

maybe there are car share clubs in the region she is staying? perhaps she could get a cheaper bike for "safer" times and use the car share otherwise?

 

[eddieo]

The LSE is in the Aldwich near covent garden amd digs probably tottenham court road. a car is out of the question. she already has a car...Mine I never see it! lol

 

[Alex728]

to fair if her job is in that area as well she's probably perfectly safe walking if she sticks to built up areas and doesn't talk to strangers etc...

metpol do keep a close watch up west as they don't want London to get a rep for being unsafe for well-heeled foreign businesspeople and tourists..

most of the crime profiles there are bag/purse/phone grabs than anything worse but is she is careful and doesn't flash bling about I'm sure she'll be safe - and remember its a equal opportunity world and girls do crime too... (a common tactic by female robbers is to be friendly and compliment a girl on her fashion or handbag or something like that and then try and rob her, actually male ones do this but without handbags being involved..)

I expect her Uni will also give her this personal safety advice...

London isn't that big so public transport may be more cost-effective and feasible.

When I was at uni in London in the same area I never owned a bike and just went around on public transport at all hours and I actually lived in SE London. Only had two robbery attempts, both unsuccesful and I escaped with my property and person intact., but this was from 1990-1992 (I dropped out for reasons unrelated to personal safety).

 

[flecc]

A car is certainly not an option in that area of Central London due to the parking problems and costs. A scooter does seem to be the best option for all her needs, but if the digs are in the Tottenham Court Road area, walking to and from the LSE will be a viable option, particularly in fair weather, since they are quite close. Very many years ago as a young man that was my patch as a service engineer and I walked with a toolbox all over that area and would sometimes walk the greater distance from the Aldwych area to my spares base at Great Portland Street.
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[Alex728]

Very many years ago as a young man that was my patch as a service engineer and I walked with a toolbox all over that area and would sometimes walk the greater distance from the Aldwych area to my spares base at Great Portland Street.
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indeed, people vastly overestimate distances in London due to its density, and regularly get on the Tube or bus to travel distances they could easily walk!

 

[simonbarnett]

Totteham Court Rd to Aldwych is an easy walk or cycle and wouldn't need an ebike. Either are good for students as they're cheapest. I ride that route each day and don't see sexiast stuff, but that's at rush hour. Tube's ok and walk from Holborn down Kingsway or she could bus it. She's probably socially best off doing what her fellow students do.

I went to LSE (years ago) by bike at first from SW London and later by ancient Velosolex moped . She might look at a moped if she needs to get around more but there are costs, dangers and restricting student alcohol to consider .

Finally- she's a lucky girl and I'm sure she's earned it; great college, great reputation and great location .

 

[easycommuter]

e-Scooter + Removable Batteries

If you both go ahead with an e-scooter, I think removable batteries are a very useful facility to hold out for.

I understand London has several electricity re-charge points,
but removeable batteries will allow your daughter to be more flexible about
when and where she re-charges the batteries.